Hello, My Love
by ShadowFoxMoon
Summary: YYH X INU Sequel to "Goodbye, My Friend" After waiting for so long Kagome finally finds herself back on Earth. Fate then brings her to meet the Spirit Detectives and she then gets to know a handsome emerald-eyed man. Why does he seem so familiar? Kur/Kag
1. The Awaited Day

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

_**Story**_

Kagome happily ran out of the large house, her well known yellow backpack in hand. She placed the heavy object over her shoulders and shifted it into place. After she deemed it secure, she started walk towards her destination, which wasn't as far as you would have believed it to be. She hummed a happy tune while thinking about all the things she had to do today. She had no idea that the whole time she was being carefully watched…

Piercing orbs studied her every move, waiting for the right moment to strike. Following her every step, the creature took note at the woman's cheerful attitude and happy disposition. The act almost made it chuckle in pure amusement.

It has been watching her for several weeks now. She ate, slept, and talked with her friends without even realizing anything. She has no idea what is about to happen to her. Today was the day that would change her life forever. Today, she will never see things the same again. Today was the day she was going to regret leaving this place, and she will always regret it for the rest of her life…

In that moment, Kagome walked passed the patch of forest which kept the spy well hidden. The girl paused in her stride, before looking towards the area, feeling eyes upon her person. The fact that she looked its way almost surprised it-- _almost._

She then shrugged, passing it off as her imagination, and continued her way towards the small hut, a smile on her face. The creature smirked in satisfaction as it watched her open the door to the hut, before walking inside and closing the door behind her. After several moments, a pink glow seeped its way out of the cracks in the old building, before it slowly faded away…

She's gone! It hissed in delight. Now is the time…

The unknown creature burst out of the forest and ran towards the large house, its heart beating excitedly against its chest. Finally-- It smirked in joy, while slamming the door open and rushing inside. A delicious smell wafted into its nose, and it immediately knew its target was in the kitchen.

It ran through the house, but as it neared the cooking area it slowed down it's pace. It calmly strolled into the room, and its eyes immediately focused on the older woman, who was watching her food cook on the stove. It stood there, just staring into the woman's back, wondering when she would realize it was there…

After several minutes the woman paused in her cooking, and turned her head to look over her shoulder. Her eyes locked onto it's. Both surprise and worry instantly showed on the woman's face. She turned completely around, and out of habit her hand went onto her chest, another sign of worry.

"That was quick." She spoke. "Is something wrong? Did you forget something?" She questioned.

Tears filled the creature's blue eyes, and she shook her head no. She then ran towards the woman and embraced her in a loving hug.

"I'm home, Mother…"

After waiting for so long, I am finally home…


	2. Message From The Spirit World

Kagome continued to sweep the stone walkway, like her grandfather asked. She was wearing her priestess outfit. Grandfather said it would be best, incase someone should visit-- She almost laughed at the idea. Who would visit? It was the slow season. Yet she was not so cold hearted as to burst her grandfather's only joys in life, so she kept her opinions to herself.

She has been home for almost a week now, and she couldn't be happier. She paused in her sweeping and looked towards the hut. Inside that old building, was the well that started it all. She sighed and continued her cleaning once again. The day that she left a week ago, was the date which she would never return to the future…

She knew all to well, that Naraku would attack sometime this week, and then the whole problem with the jewel would start. She looked down sadly, and glanced at the said jewel that was resting peacefully below her collarbone. In the end she chose to stay in the past, to protect the jewel, and never see her family again--

"Sis!" The familiar call entered her ears, causing her to smile.

"Sota." She replied while giving him a gentle smile.

He slowly strolled over to her, his school pack lazily placed over his shoulder. She looked down at her little brother, who was now eleven years of age, and was only a head shorter then her. She smiled happily and quickly pulled him into a hug, while jamming his head into her chest area, smothering him with her boobs-- I mean, love…

"Come on sis, knock it off--!!" He mumbled into her chest. She just continued to squeal joyously while rocking back and forth.

"You're so cute in your little school uniform!" She purred and cuddled his head tighter.

"Ah, stop it. You're embarrassing me…" He whined, but stopped struggling nonetheless, a flush of pink spread across his nose. He then sighed, returning the embrace with a gentle hug of his own, and she hummed in praise. "I was only gone for eight hours. Unlike you, I have to go to school ya know."

"I know." She told him, and finally released him from his hug. He slowly released her as well, and took a step back. "Did you do well in your test?" She asked.

"Yup! I knew all of the questions, and it was rather easy. I studied everything you told me to, and it was a piece of cake."

"See, what did I tell you? Listen to your sister. I know what they will quiz you on." She smiled.

"Is mom back from the store?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head. "She left a little late today, but she should be back in another hour. Grandpa also went with her." She told him.

"So you were here by yourself?" He asked.

"Yes? Is something wrong with that?" She questioned.

"Well, what if something would've happened?"

"Nothing is going to happen that I can't handle."

"Oh? I remember that one time when you were screaming for Inuyasha's help when you found a spider in the bathroom."

"Hmm… I don't recall something like that." She tried not to laugh, obviously lying.

"Then I must have been mistaken when he went charging through the house, and withdrew that sword of his, destroying the roof in the process…"

"Yeah, then I had to pay for the damage with my allowance--" She continued the story. "And it's _still _not paid up yet--!!"

"See, I knew you remembered…" He started to laugh.

"How could I forget?" She joined in the laughter, remembering the good times.

Though she felt slightly guilty, for she has not told them the complete truth. That she is in fact 518 years old, and has been living in the demon world all this time-- She just told her family that she completed the jewel and was never going to return to the past. They didn't really question her about it, and for that she was glad.

She doesn't mind the fact that her family believes she is the same weak girl as before. That fact actually makes things better. If they knew the truth, they might treat her differently, or start to worry, and she didn't want that. But after a few years, they probably will start to notice that her body is not aging, and at that point she will have to tell them everything-- She sighed, wondering if she was doing the right thing.

"Oh, by the way, I beat your high score in your fighting game." She confessed, while continuing to sweep the grounds.

"What?!?!" He shouted in disbelief. "No way!"

"Yes way." She laughed at his displeasure. She enjoys teasing him, but she really did beat the score, which only made it even more amusing.

"It took me a month to learn the right moves and you beat my score in a week!?" He objected. "Aw man!" He started to sulk. "Next thing you're going to tell me is that you bested me in my favorite shooting game too…"

"Well…" She looked away innocently and allowed her voice to fade. She laughed, and he sighed, defeated. She reached over and patted his head in praise. "Don't hate me because I'm the best."

"I'll beat you…" He told her.

"Of course you will…" She smiled. Suddenly, she pulled him into another embrace but this time it was a lot gentler, as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders softly, resting her head onto his. "I love you…" She whispered into his hair. He sighed and returned the hug, patting her back in reassurance.

"I love you too…" He relaxed within her hold, until she squealed in delight and his eyes widened. Her hug quickly turned deadly, as she started crushing him against her chest yet again.

"You're so cute!!" She started to squeeze the life out of him, while telling him how handsome he is. "You have grown so much!" She told him. "I bet the girls are crawling all over you."

"Sis…" He mumbled into her chest, while his face turned tomato red. She laughed, and finally released him from the suffocating embrace.

"You should bring your girlfriend over for dinner sometimes." She told him.

"Why? You would just smother her to death with those killer hugs of yours." He told her.

"Well, I can't help it. She is so cute!" She gave a small laugh, and he too, joined in the laughter. Suddenly a shock to her senses spiked, and she snapped her head up, looking towards the entrance, immediately ceased her laughter. "Sota, get inside." She told him. Her expression turned deadly as she stared at the steps. He looked at her questionably, wondering why she was so serious, before looking towards the gate.

"Why?" He asked. Soon his questioned was answered for several people soon came into their vision, as they ascended the last flight of stairs. "They are just visitors." He was about to move towards them, when she quickly moved her broom in front of him, stopping him from going.

"Go into the house, and don't come out until I say." She ordered. "You understand?"

He was about to persist, but then he looked at her, the serious expression she was giving him stopped him from question it. He looked at the people once more, before nodding and walking towards the house.

He could tell something was not right, but he knew his sister could handle it if there was trouble. Though he as not mentioned it to her, he felt that there was something different about her ever since last week, when she announced she was going to stay with them for good-- It was as if she was a different person.

She was so mature, as if she has seen the test of time, and came back with more knowledge and experience then he could have imagined…

If only he knew how right he truly was…

* * *

Kurama slowly walked towards the rendezvous point, wondering why he was called into this mission as well. As he slowly walked towards the deeper end of the park, the yelling and shouts of his comrades fell into his ears, and he smiled, finding slight comfort in their pointless fights.

"I see that you two have already made yourself comfortable." He announced his appearance, while walking out of the tree line.

"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted, while releasing Kuwabara from his chokehold. "Am I glad to see you! Please tell me you know what this is all about."

"I'm sorry Yusuke, but it seems that even I was left in the dark."

"Just great! The only thing Botan told me was to come here and then she flew off to find you and Hiei!"

"Yeah and I was dragged along too!" Kuwabara objected.

"I didn't drag you here, you were with me when she showed up, and you just followed me!"

"I can't deny help when a pretty lady needs me!" He puffed out his chest.

"No woman would need you with an ugly mug like yours." Yusuke mumbled.

"What was that Urameshi?! Come here and say that to my face!" He yelled.

"I just did!" It was at that moment another fight broke out as the two started to whale on each other.

"If Hiei and I are needed for this mission as well, I suspect that it's going to be a difficult one." Kurama told them.

"Really!?" Kuwabara squeaked out, stopping the fight. "But we just got finished defeating those four demons in that weird castle." He complained. "I mean, defending the world from evil demon bugs who could invade peoples mind, deserves some kind of vacation after that…"

"You know he has a point." Yusuke actually agreed with him.

"But if I'm not mistaken our wounds have all healed and we should be in top condition if this mission is indeed important." Kurama tried to reason with them.

"Yeah, whatever. This _better_ be important!" Yusuke huffed.

"Oh, and it is Yusuke!" Botan chirped.

" 'Bout time you got here!" He yelled.

"Stop your complaining." Hiei spoke from within the shadows.

"Is that you shorty!?" Kuwabara spoke out while trying to find him.

"Hmph." He jumped down from one of the trees and landed in the area. "Idiot."

"What did you say you shrimp?!" Kuwabara raised his fist in a challenge and Hiei just ignored him.

"Now now, try not to fight." Botan tried to reason with them, and hopped off of her ore.

"Why have you called us here Botan?" Kurama asked politely. "You seem as if you are in quite nervous. Is something the matter?"

"Well, its nothing to really worry about-- Heh-heh…" She tried to play it off as nothing, while rubbing her head in sheepishly.

"That doesn't sound very good…" Yusuke suddenly spoke up, while placing his hands into his pocket.

"I think it would be best if we talk while we go towards the area. It's not to far from here." Botan suggested.

Seeing no problem with it, they all started to walk towards the place where they were needed, for what reason they still didn't know.

* * *

"You see, a very powerful person from the demon world escaped and entered Earth." Botan started. "She has not tried to hide herself in anyway, so we have been watching her carefully." It was at that time Yusuke yawned, already bored.

"Ok so we just have to kick their ass and put them back, right? That doesn't sound too bad…" He spoke up.

"It's not that simple Yusuke." She told him. "We do not wish to fight, we just want to know why she is on Earth, and try to reason with her so she can go back to the Demon world peacefully. After all, she is a very important member of society in the Demon world and--"

"So why are we here if we don't have to kick anyone's ass?" He obvious did not wish to stand around and listen to them talk about nothing…

"I believe that we are needed to make sure that everything goes smoothly." Kurama voiced his thoughts.

"That's exactly right!" Botan chirped. She then stopped at the base of an old shrine. They too stopped, and then looked at the long flight of stairs.

"We have to go up there?!" Kuwabara complained.

"Well…" Yusuke shrugged, not bothered by it. "It isn't as bad as grandma's place…" He was referring to Genkai.

As they continued their walk up the stairs, Kurama had a bad feeling. He knew that Botan is not bringing them there just to make sure things went alright. If this person is strong, and well known in the Demon world, he had to wonder why they were even brought into this mission.

"Botan." Kurama called to her.

"Yes?" She looked at him over her shoulder.

"Would we even be able to do anything if things got out of hand?" He asked. He knew the powers of the Demon world, and if this person is even half as strong as he imagined, they wouldn't stand a chance. The question obviously was not something she wanted to answer, and she tried to change the subject.

"Ha-ha. You're so funny Kurama!" She playfully slapped him on the shoulder. He knew then, if something were to go wrong, they would most likely be unable to stop them if they truly wished to do them harm.

"By the way Botan." Kuwabara spoke up. "You said 'she', does that mean it is a woman?" He asked.

"Of course, Idiot." Hiei spoke up.

"Shut up shorty!!" He yelled to him, while raising his fist in challenge. Hiei didn't reply and just ignored him. He then gave up and asked another question, as they started to climb the last few stairs. "What's her name?"

Botan was about to answer the question, and they were all looking towards her, curious, but then another voice interrupted her.

"Go into the house, and don't come out until I say." She ordered. "You understand?"

The voice slammed into his ears, and his heart stopped beating. It can't be-- He slowly turned towards the voice, and once his emerald orbs fell onto a familiar form, the name slipped out of his mouth.

"Kagome…" He whispered, eyes wide with both shock and amazement.

* * *

"If you take another step, you will be entering into my personal space and I will be forced to take defensive measures." She told them. They immediately stopped, even though they just entered the area and were still several feet away from her.

She then took that time to inspect them. A boy with slick hair. Another male with a goofy grin and orange hair. A strange blue haired woman, who seemed nervous. A pretty boy who looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. And a short fire apparition with gravity defying hair.

"Hmm…" She hummed in amusement. Two humans and two demons, that fact she knew very well, but the girl, she was different. The aura she was feeding her was something she has never sensed before. "Why are you here?" She asked them calmly, staring directly at the blue haired girl.

"Well we--" She was about to speak, but then got interrupted.

"Ah~! Such a lovely beauty!" The goofy male with orange hair spoke up, and started running towards her, his face was flushed pink for some reason. "Please be my girlfriend!!" He asked her while placing her hands into his, and staring down at her intensely.

She glared at him with cold eyes, before jabbing her broom handle into his stomach, causing him to hunch over in pain. Just as quickly she swept the broom between his legs, and harshly swung up, hitting him in his most hurtful regions. She smirked, before continuing her swing and easily launching him over her shoulder. He fell onto the floor with a sickening thud. He then got into fetal position and started to writhe in pain, while rolling on the ground.

"Personal space…" She reminded him.

She then took another look at the people, wondering what their reactions would be now that one of their own was injured. The girl was shaking in her boots, she obviously knew who she was. Slick hair, was actually pointing and laughing at his friends pain. The short one had a smirk on his face, amused by the defeat of his companion, and the red-head-- Her blue orbs locked onto his emerald ones, and for some reason she was having a difficult time looking away. Why does he look so familiar--?

"Lady Kagome." The girl spoke up, breaking her thoughts. She slowly looked towards her, showing she had her attention. "We come with a message from the Spirit World." She told her.

"So you must be the spirit detectives I heard so much about…" She looked back towards them. The one known as Kuwabara was slowly crawling back towards the others, and she sighed. "It seems as though your reputation is vastly overrated." She showed her disappointment by shaking her head.

"Hey! What is that suppose to mean?!" The slick hair spoke up, offended.

"A Punk, who is quick to tempter." She looked towards Yusuke. "A weakling." She sadly shook her head at Kuwabara. "A shrimp." She locked eyes with Hiei. "And…" She finally looked at Kurama. "A Boy Toy." A small, almost unnoticeable blush appeared across his nose. "If you have come here to take me back by force, you should understand that you cannot even compare to me in the weak state you are in now."

"What did you say?! You--!" Yusuke started to stomp towards her, jaw clinching in anger.

"Yusuke don't!" Botan grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back, preventing him from attacking. "We are not here to fight--!" She tried to calm him down.

Suddenly the short fire apparition ran towards her, weapon drawn. Though he was quick, she easily matched his speed and blocked every one of his slashes with her broom. She then raised her weapon and hit it against his blade. His sword flew out of his hand, landing several feet behind him. She then penned him to the ground, her foot on his chest, and her broom under his chin.

"You're good…" He complimented her.

"And _you _broke my broom."

She glared at him, while gently pressing the broken yet sharp end of her utensil into his neck. After several tense moments she sighed and finally released him. She knew he probably didn't compliment people often so she took it as a respectful gesture and nodded her head towards him in truce. He huffed and got up, dusting his clothes off before retrieving his sword.

Feeling eyes boring into her back, she turned and looked at the others, only to find them staring at her, except the red-head, he didn't look too surprised.

"No way! She actually beat shorty in a speed match!?" Kuwabara was finally able to pull himself back together, and stood next to Yusuke.

"Hmph." He didn't say anything, and placed his sword where it belonged, then leaned against one of the tress which surrounded the grounds.

"Now tell me, what is this message that the Spirit World wishes to give to me?" She asked. Though she already knew what it was. She has been expecting their arrival for sometime, but she didn't think they would bring the spirit detectives.

"Though we do not know why you have come to Earth, we would like it if you returned." The girl spoke. "Please--!!" She then bowed low towards her. The act made a small laugh escape her lips, and she smirked in amusement.

"And if I refuse the request?" She asked innocently, while walking towards her. She squeaked and started to fidget. "Are you going to take me back by force?" She asked, while looking towards the men she brought with her. "I'm sure you already know that is impossible if they are your only source of man power."

"Well, I was hoping you would say yes…" She mumbled, causing her to smile at her frail attitude, watching the nervous woman sheepishly scratch her cheek. "That is as far as we planned…" Kagome just shook her head side to side before sighing.

"You are lucky I am not a bad person…" She stated. "But I must refuse your offer to return to the Demon World." She told her.

"Umm--!! Please?" She asked nicely again.

"I could force you to leave--" She paused. "Or I could just kill you…" She told her opinions, and her words made the detectives tense. "But as I mentioned before, I am not a bad person so how about we cut a deal? Hmm?" She asked, while giving the Botan a small smile. "Some conditions that will allow me to stay on Earth without anymore trouble?"

"Conditions?" She asked, blinking in surprise. Her eyes went wide and she clapped her hands together in joy. "Of course!! That sounds like an excellent idea!"

"Good…" Her expression softened as she looked upon the cheerful female.

The woman then reached into her pocket and pulled out a compact mirror. She then started to speak into the device and another voice fell into her ears. She knew who the voice belonged to, so she was not surprised.

"Conditions?" The toddler spoke. "Well I don't see why not--" He started to mumble to himself.

It was at that time she looked towards the other members of the group. Yusuke was watching her intently, while his hands were in his pockets. She gave him a gentle smile and he blinked in surprise, before snorting and turning his head away. The motions almost caused her to giggle. If he just huffed a small 'Feh' he would have looked just like _him_…

Kuwabara was arguing with Hiei over something, and the fire apparition was ignoring him, his full attention was on her. She gave him a smile as well, and he too turned his head.

She then looked onto the last member, Kurama. Yet she was surprised he was not staring at her like the others. Instead he seemed deep in thought, while looking at the ground. Feeling her eyes on him, he blinked, before looking up at her. Her expression softened before another smile crept its way into her features, causing the demon's face to flush a rosy color, obviously caught off guard by the friendly gesture, just like his other companions.

"I got it--!!" The small voice yelled out, making her turn away from the intriguing red-head, and to the device once again. Botan then turned the item towards her, so she was looking into the screen.

"It's nice to see you again Koenma, glad to see you have not changed since we last spoken."

"Oh, yes, its nice to speak to you again Kagome, but I must admit I did not expect to meet you like this…" He seemed upset by the facts that brought them together. But she did not blame him for that. She would be upset too if a powerful 'demon' escaped into the human world. "But before we got into the details of how we can come to a truce, I would like to know why you have come to Earth." He asked. She quickly felt several eyes upon her form, and she almost laughed. Such a curious bunch. She turned away from the screen, and looked back towards the house-- She smiled as she saw a familiar clump of hair, belonging to her younger brother, dart away from the window, not wanting to get caught spying--

"My family…" She confessed, looking back towards him with a happy expression.

"Family!?" He seemed confused. He then started to suck on his pacifier, signaling he was thinking deeply. "If I'm not mistaken only humans live there." He spoke his thoughts. "An older gentleman, his daughter, and grandson."

"Yes. My grandpa, Mother, and Brother." She told him. He scratched his head, not understanding.

"But how can they be your family? They are human and--." He started to speak, but she then interrupted him.

"I never said I _wasn't _human…" She confessed. "You just _assumed_ I was a demon…"

"…" After a few tense moments his eyes widened and he slammed his tiny fists onto his desk in shock. "WHAT?!" She could only smile at his surprised expression, as well as the other shocked looks that were given to her. "But you're over 500 year's old--!!"

"The jewel has grated me longevity." She reminded him that she was the keeper of the sacred jewel. His eye widened yet again, but this time in realization.

"I can't believe I didn't see this before. Your powers must be--"

"Purification from the powers of the long lost abilities of Miko's." She finished for him. He plopped down in his chair, obviously still in shock. "I have answered your question as to why I am here. Will you give me the conditions that I need to fulfill, so I can stay on Earth with my family?" She asked.

"Oh, yes." He cleared his throat. "We will need to know what you are doing at all times. So, as long as you report what you are doing once every…" He paused, thinking of a time frame. "Three to five days, I believe that is reasonable enough to allow you to stay on Earth, as long as you are not causing any trouble."

"Thank you, Koenma." She smiled at him. "That task is very easy to accomplish." She sighed in relief, glad he did not put her on the Spirit Detective team, or something silly like that.

"I'm glad you find it to your liking." He spoke.

"Who is the one I shall be relaying my report to?" She asked. "I cannot go to the Spirit World every 3 days. That will be too much of a strain on what little time I have with my family…"

"Hmm. You have a point…" He started to suck on his pacifier, once again in deep thought. He then smiled, finally getting an idea. "Yusuke!!"

"Hell no!!" He immediately objected. "I ain't doing it!!" He then took that moment to shove his hands into his pocket and calmly walk away from them, going down the stairs, back home.

"I suppose Yusuke is unreliable in something like that anyway. He would forget everything before he even got here--" She tried not to laugh as Kuwabara started pointing to himself, wanting to be the messenger. He then started to mumble things like 'A pretty girl visiting me every few days-- Heaven--!!' Looking over the fact that she was the one who hit him in his sensitive parts not too long ago-- "It would be the same for Kuwabara-- he's just as forgetful--" He quickly shot down his bubble of joy, and he sulked in defeat within a shadowy corner. "I know! Hiei--!!"

"No." He then disappeared, leaving no room for argument.

"Well, I guess that means its up to you Kurama-- Good luck!!" The screen then went black, signaling the end of the transmission…

Unbeknown to her or anyone else, the fox started to turn pale, wondering how it could end up like this…

* * *

_**STORY INFORMATION:**_ Hey guys I know you are probably wondering about a few things, and before you start sending me questions I would like to clear a few things up that I think you guys would probably be asking…

"_Yusuke is a demon/half-breed. Why did she say he was human?" _

Well it's because he is at least 50+ generations down the line since that happened. His demon blood is such a small percentage, that it doesn't really make a difference at that point. But its because that the blood is somewhere in his body, though it is small, that he was able to tap into it later on in the Anime-- But my story will not go that far into the Yu Yu Hakusho plot, I am sad to say…

"_She doesn't recognize 'Yoko'!? Why not? She should have realized it was him, especially since they said his name, 'Kurama'."_

Well, I wanted to point out that in my last story, "Goodbye, My Friend", Yoko never once said his full name 'Yoko Kurama' and Shippo was the only one who knew his complete name. Yet Shippo never mentioned it to her, so she doesn't know. That's why she didn't react when they said 'Kurama'.

Secondly, he is in a different body now. His whole appearance and even some of his personally has changed. Plus she thinks he is dead, even if there are some connections to him and Yoko, she will jus think of them as coincidence. I mean, if you believed you killed someone with your own hands, obviously your first thoughts would be "He must have escaped and gone into the human world to be reborn into a fetus!" (Of course I'm being sarcastic…) lol

Anyway, I am sure you understand. I believe those two questions would be most common questions at this point in the story. If any other questions come into your mind, don't be afraid to ask me. I'll try my best to answer them.

Thanks for taking the time to read this note.

ShadowFoxMoon


	3. Fate Can Be Cruel

Kurama sighed for the hundredth time that day. He looked away from his text book and out of the window, unable to concentrate on the ink covered page. He knew it was bad to ignore the teacher, but he had something else on his mind-- More like _someone_ else…

"Kagome…" He whispered her name, as if it were taboo.

Just as he was about to forget about her, she came back into his life. How fate can be so cruel at times…

Yet he knew he could never truly forget about her. After all, she was the reason he was in this new body. He used the last of his energy to escape, and come to Earth-- Yet, 15 years later it seems his past has caught up to him, and he was faced with meeting his 'Grim Reaper' so to speak.

When he saw her, at first he didn't know what to think. His body was frozen stiff and he could only stare at her in disbelief. Then his mind started reeling about how this could be possible-- He knew Hiei noticed his odd behavior, yet he did not say anything, or try to pry into his mind, and for that he was glad.

So many thoughts and emotions came to surface, yet he noticed that one thing did not appear. Anger. He was not angry at her, and he did not hate her for what she did. He would never really be mad at her, even if she did 'kill' him--

"Ah~" He let out a small sound when something softly hit him on the head. He reached up and rubbed his scalp, while looking at the person who would dare-- His eyes widened slightly, before he gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Teacher, what a pleasant surprise…"

"I thought you knew better then to daydream in the middle of my class, Mr. Minamino?"

"Yes. I promise it won't happen again." He reassured him.

His teacher just rolled his eyes, before walking back up the aisle, towards his desk. He looked down at his book, while placing his cheek onto his knuckles for support. Soon, his eyes had a far off sheen to them, as the familiar image of Kagome's smiling face crept its way into his thoughts yet again…

He sighed…

* * *

Kurama slowly strolled down the street, pack held within his hand. School just ended and he was heading home. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the stress and tension in his muscles.

He couldn't stop thinking about the day before. He went over the events again and again in his mind, unable to believe it. His life was now connected to hers once more, and he cannot escape it. He realized that now, but that doesn't mean it wasn't difficult to accept.

Somehow it was his duty to see her every three or so days, and relay her reports to spirit world. He was just given the task yesterday through the simple act of elimination, and it seems luck was not on his side either, for he was the only one left after everyone bluntly said 'No'.

He was dreading the day when Kagome would arrive. He sighed, feeling his body go numb with worry. He knew the moment he saw her he would freeze again, or worse. Reaching up he rubbed his shoulder, trying to relax.

He soon realized he was already home, so he lowered his hand and turned the door knob, letting himself inside. He closed the door behind him and placed his shoes near the entrance. As he walked down the hallway he spotted his mother in the kitchen.

"Evening, Mother." He greeted her in his usual manner.

"Hello dear." She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled.

"I'll be in my room studying." He informed her.

"Alright, I'll come and get you when dinner is ready."

He nodded his head before continuing his way towards his room. He slowly climbed the stairs, and walked down the corridor that led to his peaceful sanctuary.

He took a deep breath, getting a second wind. He felt more relaxed now that he was finally home. He then shrugged, wondering why he was even worrying in the first place. He shouldn't be so stressed over something like that. After all, he still had two days to prepare…

Once he reached his room he wasted no time in turning the knob and opening the door--

His eyes widened with sheer surprise, and his breath caught in his throat. His pack slipped out of his hand, and it fell helplessly onto the wooden floor.

"K-Kagome…" He was barely able to find his voice, as he looked upon her figure. Hearing her name she hummed in response, before turning her head away from the open book in her hand, and looking at him.

"Kurama…" She greeted.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a calm manner, quickly shaking off all negative emotions.

Bending down he picked up his pack, before turning around and glancing down the hallway, to make sure no one was looking. He then stepped inside his room, closed the door behind him, and locked it just to be safe.

"I find you attractive, and you are very pleasing to look at…" She stated, while focusing her gaze back towards the book that had her attention moments before. By the tone in her voice, he knew she was serious, and that fact made a small tint of red show itself over his cheeks…

"You did not answer my question." He then walked to his desk, where she had made herself comfortable by sitting on top of it with her legs crossed. He then placed his pack onto the wooden furniture, and looked towards her.

"Though you are handsome, you are still too young for me…" Her words made him blush again, and he sighed. "I figured you were at school, so I decided to be patient and wait for your return." She told him.

"You are still dodging my question." He noted. "That does not tell me the reason you are in my room…" He then reached over and carefully plucked the book out of her hand, closing it with a soft snap. She gracefully turned her full attention towards him and sighed in a bored manner.

"Don't be that way…" She cooed to him. "I was only interested in your book." She rolled her eyes and turned away from him to look out of his window. "I had no idea you enjoyed science to this extent. You have a small bookshelf full of information regarding many speculations and theories…"

"Science intrigues me…"

"Hmmm…" She smiled at his choice in words, and looked back at him. He couldn't help but stare into her deep blue pools, quickly getting lost within their dark depths-- "I know Koenma has a list of questions he wishes to ask of me." Her voice snapped him out of his trance. "He has no doubt given you the task to demand the answers in his place." She spoke her thoughts before softly hopping off of his desk.

"Yes." She was correct. Koenma did give him a 'list' of questions that he wanted him to ask her.

"I thought so." She smiled to herself before reaching over and picking up a random small object that was lying on his desk. She then started to fiddle around with it, expecting it carefully. "If I came to you in two days, like we discussed, and I had to give you the report on top of all of these questions--" She paused in her statement, as if thinking. "It would take up too much time from the precious moments I have with my family."

"I suppose you are correct…" He then reached over and snatched the object out of her hand. "Please don't touch that…" He placed it carefully back onto his desk and she shrugged.

"I would like to answer your questions now, or do you object?" She asked innocently. He sighed, before backing up and sitting on his bed. "Something wrong?" She noticed his uneasiness.

"It's nothing." He tried to reassure her.

"Do you wish for me to report to you about my recent movements instead?" She suggested. "Well, I got out of bed." She started her story without hearing his answer. "Then I went to the bathroom and took a shower. After I was finished I had breakfast with my family. Then Grandpa and I started to have a discussion about mummified hands and--" He quickly raised his hand, stopping her from continuing her report.

"That's quite alright…" He told her.

"If you say so…" She smiled at him, obviously enjoying herself for some reason.

His heart skipped a beat and he quickly focused his gaze to the floor, trying not to look at her happy expression. Why--? He questioned. Why did she have to look at him like that?

"What is your first question?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He looked away from the floor and back towards her.

"Your question…?"

"Oh, yes." He nodded in retaliation, and then placed his hand underneath his chin in thought. "I guess we can begin with how you are over 500 years old, yet your family is still here."

"When I was 15 I got pulled down a well, and ended up 500 years in the past." She told him calmly, while leaning against the wall beside the window.

"I see… Is that how your journey to collect the jewel shards got started?"

"How did you know about that?" She asked.

"Umm…" He quickly tried to think of a good excuse-- "Koenma informed me about it."

"Oh…" She then looked away from him and back towards the window. He sighed in relief, glad she didn't suspect anything.

"So I am guessing you decided to stay in the past?" He asked.

"Yes. When I was 18 I went into the well and never came back." She looked towards him and sighed, regret clearly etched into her voice. "That was last week--" She told him.

"So you have come back 500 years later to pick up where you left off?" She just nodded her head.

"Right about now, I am fighting a horrible battle that will deicide everything, only to be stuck protecting the jewel for the rest of my life…"

She unconsciously reached up, and touched the jewel that was resting just below her collarbone. The movement made him focus his gaze to her neck. His emerald orbs widened with surprise as he spotted another familiar object resting beside the jewel.

"That's--!!" He suddenly spoke up, staring at the blue gem.

"This?" She looked down and softly picked up the necklace. As she looked at it, her attitude completely changed and a soft smile appeared on her face. "A friend gave this to me several years ago…"

"Friend--?" The word surprised him greatly. She still thinks of him as a friend?

"Yes, he was very dear to me-- He still is…" She released the necklace, and it gently fell back into its place beside the jewel. "Yet he was taken away from me all too quickly…" She looked down sadly, obviously upset about it.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to bring up bad memories." For the both of us… He turned his head away, not wishing to look upon her saddened expression.

"It's alright, you did not know." But the fact was, he did-- "Any other questions?" She changed the subject.

"Why did you keep the fact that you were human a secret form Koenma and any other demons while you were in the Demon World?"

"If I openly told people about how I was human, and if they caught wind that I was a Miko, it would cause panic across the entire planet." She answered. So that's why she did not tell him-- Then again, if she did tell him he probably wouldn't accept it. She was so powerful, it just seemed natural that she would be a demon--

"I see…" He nodded his head. "That makes sense."

"Of course it does." She rolled her eyes before shaking her head at him.

He softly smiled to himself, realizing that even after 15 years, she has not changed-- He watched her as she openly released a large yawn, showing her pearly whites to the world. Was it that late? He turned his head and looked towards his alarm clock. He frowned, realizing it was only 5:00...

"Something wrong?" He asked. She shook her head 'no' in response, before bringing her hand to her face and lazily rubbed her eye.

"I am just having trouble sleeping lately." She confessed.

"Trouble sleeping?" He questioned, slightly concerned.

"It's nothing to worry about, it happens to many people."

"I am not worried…" He defended.

"Oh?" She looked towards him and smiled. "If you say so…" She then stood straight and stretched. "Is there anymore questions you need to ask me?" He shook his head, and she sighed in disappointment. "That's too bad, I was enjoying myself."

"Are you saying that you enjoy being in my company?" He asked.

"I know, it sounds strange…" She mumbled, mostly to herself. "We just met but it seems as if I have known you for a long time…" She shook her head, quickly denying it.

"Yes, that is quite strange..." His voice faded and he quickly turned his head away.

"Well, I guess I have to leave then." She announced her departure. Hearing her words he stood up, and watched her place her hand onto the window frame. "I'll see you again in two days." She flashed him a smile.

"You know where to find me." He replied, while waving goodbye. She gave a small laugh, before jumping out of his window, making a quick escape.

Once he knew she was gone for good, he released a breath of air that he did not realize he was holding. Raising his trembling hand to his heart, he clinched his shirt till his knuckles grew white, trying to cease its harsh pounding as it thumped against his chest uncontrollably.

He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take, yet he knew in two more days he would once again see her…

"Kagome…"


	4. Kurama's Report and Hiei's Intrusion

"Well, I got out of bed." She started her story. "Then I went to the bathroom and took a shower. After I was finished I had breakfast with my family. Then Grandpa and I started to have a discussion about Water Pixies and--" He sighed and cleared his throat, causing her to stop in her report.

She watched as he shifted in his chair, pencil and paper in hand. He lifted the notepad and skimmed over what he has already written down in his notes--

"Is there something _else_?" He asked, looking towards her questionably. "Something that doesn't involve talking with your grandfather about demons and old folklore…" He sighed yet again, and then started to read over the notes once more. "Cleaning the grounds, cooking meals, or playing video games?"

"I'll have you know, those were very good games…" She told him.

"…" He raised his hand and placed it over his face, mumbling to himself.

She rolled her eyes and then looked out of the window. To tell the truth, nothing else came to her mind. The whole time she has been with her family. She was happy to be with them, and had a wonderful time, but it wasn't the kind of exciting things Kurama or Koenma probably wanted to hear--

"Yesterday I went to the bakery and had some delicious fresh bread." She told him. He blinked, surprised at her words, before looking towards her. "Then I went to the park, where I continued to gorge myself on bread, while looking at all the plant life, and stayed there for a few hours. After that I went to the aquarium." She sighed, closing her eyes. "Watching them swim around in that large tank relaxed me and I lost track of time…" As she spoke, he wasted no time in writing it down--

"The aquarium was closed yesterday." He told her. She almost smirked at his cleaver observation.

"I find it more appealing and surreal when it is dark and no one else is around…"

"So you broke into the aquarium?"

"Only after all the workers left."

"That doesn't mean it was right…"

"It was just an aquarium. It's not like I broke into the building to steal anything…"

She watched him reach up and rub the bridge of his nose, before lowering his pencil yet again and started to erase several lines of notes.

"I guess I can leave that little detail out of the report…" His words made her smile. Who knew he could be so nice-- "What were you doing in the aquarium after dark anyway?"

"Why would anyone want to go to the aquarium?" She mumbled, while reaching over and grabbing another random object off of his desk, inspecting it closely.

"To observe the fish?" He then reached out and plucked the trinket out of her hand. "Please don't touch that…" She just rolled her eyes at him before softly kicking her legs, finding it hypnotic as her feet dangled off of the desk.

"To relax…" She corrected him. "After all, I came back to this world to be with my family and to relax…" She sighed and her eyes started to fog over in thought. Images of the times she spent with all of her friends moved through her mind.

"To relax…" He mumbled to himself, while continuing to take notes. A deep and exhausted sigh escaped his lips before he leaned back into his chair, and closed his eyes.

"You know…" She softly spoke towards him. "If it bothers you so much to be with me, you could just give me the communicator and I can speak to Koenma through that…"

"I have already asked him and he said that it is not allowed to give such rare items to someone who isn't a Spirit Detective." He replied with his eyes still closed.

"Oh?" His words hummed in her ears. "You detest my presence so much that you have already tried to find a way to get rid of me?" His cheeks turned pink and he snapped his eyes open. She smirked at his surprised expression, finding it amusing. "I thought you were just being shy…" She whispered, while leaning down towards his face. "Do you really dislike talking with me?" She asked innocently.

"I-It's not that…" He turned his head away, embarrassed.

"Wait…" She gave a small gasp and put her hand to her lips in surprise. The movement made him instantly whip his head around and stare at her with wide eyes. Has she finally realized--!!! "You're gay!" She exclaimed.

"What?!" She could practically see the small anime sweat-drop roll down the side of his head.

"I mean, it makes sense. You only have guy friends."

"I'm not--"

"And from what I can tell, the only woman you talk to is your mother…"

"…" He turned his head, his cheeks flushed with a rosy color. She smirked and hopped off of his desk. "You're wrong…"

"Really?" She smiled down at him.

"Really." He quickly stood up and looked down at her, instantly switching the situation to his favor. It was then she realized how tall he was-- For some reason she couldn't help but turn her head, unable to look at him in the eyes. "It's something else…"

"So, you _are_ shy…" She mumbled..

"Yet _you_ are the one who is looking away…"

"…" She gave a small huff. "I have told you all that I have done for the past three days…" She stated. "Can I leave now?"

"If that is what you wish…" He then took a step back and sat down onto his chair. He reached over and picked up the notepad, before he started to skim over the words yet again.

She watched him for several more moments, before walking towards the window. She placed her hand onto the frame, but then paused and looked back at him.

"I'll see you in three days, Kurama." She told him.

"I'll be waiting…" He replied, not looking up from his papers.

She just rolled her eyes before jumping out of the window, heading home…

* * *

Kagome softly opened the door to her room, and sighed. As she looked around the familiar surrounding a smile showed on her face. When she came back home, the first thing she did was redo all the pink that was in her room. She changed it to a more neutral color, and she believed it was a great improvement.

Do not get her wrong. Pink was a good color when she was the young and cheerful Kagome, back in the old days, but she has long since matured and does not find that bright color to be as alluring as before.

A large yawn suddenly expressed itself, showing her fatigue. She then reached up and rubbed her eye lazily. Glancing at her window, she realized it was turning dark. Even if she was tired, she knew that she would be unable to get a good night's sleep-- She sighed, before reaching up and unbuttoning the top of her shirt. Though it was useless, she knew it wouldn't hurt to try--

She paused in her undressing, before looking back to the window. Slowly she walked towards it, then reached out, fully opening the glass screen. She smiled to herself before extending her hand and motioning with her fingers in a playful manner, 'Come hither' while looking into the forest area.

There was a small rustle in the branches before a black blur appeared in front of her. She smirked, finding herself staring at a familiar face.

"I didn't know you liked spying on people like that, Hiei."

"…" He didn't say anything, yet continued to stare at her with is intense crimson orbs.

"I don't really mind if you wanted to peep on me…" She spoke, while reaching back up and continued her undressing. "But just so you know, the show is not going to be free…" She stated with smirk.

"Why am I unable to read your thoughts, woman?" He asked, unfazed by her playful attitude.

"You're no fun…" She rolled her eyes before walking towards her dresser, saddened by his lack of interest. Though she was just testing him, she wanted him to at least do _something_-- His just as boring as _him_… She huffed as an image of a familiar demon load came to her mind. She pulled out one of her drawers and started to search through her clothing. "I am blocking you." She finally answered.

"How?" He questioned sternly. She could practically feel his glare burning a hole through her back.

"I am a Miko. Your Jagan Eye has no effect on my defensive powers." She told him. "After all, we're suppose to deflect any demon's attack and purify them of their 'wickedness'." She almost laughed at the idea. "Wickedness…" She repeated the word, finding it slightly funny in her own mind…

"Hmm…" He hummed to himself, thinking about something.

"Does it bother you that you are unable to read my thoughts?" She asked. "Am I truly that difficult to understand?"

"…" He gave no answer.

She just shrugged, before closing the dresser and opening another one--

"Ah~!!" She gave a small squeal of surprise and took a step back. The noise made him whip his head towards her. She sighed in relief, while reaching up and placing her hand over her rapidly beating heart. "That surprised me…" She gave a soft smile before reaching down and picking up the object that made her jump. "It's so cute…" In her hand was a small black mouse, with a tiny white scarf around its neck. "No doubt Sota's doing, that prankster…" She mumbled to herself and huffed. It gave a small squeak, and she instantly fell in love with it. After a few seconds a big smile showed on her face and she laughed. "Hey, it kinda looks like you!" She turned towards the fire apparition. He could only look away in objection, obviously not finding it funny…

She sighed before walking towards him. Reaching out she took his hand and placed the small creature into his palm. He looked at her, before staring down at the mouse in his hand. She quickly saw that his fingertips were encased in flames--

"You even think about burning him and I will purify you--" She scolded him.

"Hmph…" He huffed, but the flames disappeared.

She smiled at him, while he just continued to glare at her. Suddenly his eyes widened slightly and she raised her eyebrow in question. He looked down, and she followed his gaze. She gave a small laugh as she saw a small lump in his clothing slowly crawling up his arm. It then paused near his neck, before sticking its head out of his shirt. It gave a small squeak in joy before hopping onto his shoulder.

"I think he likes you…" She stated, watching as small anime hearts started to float around the mouse. "You should keep him…"

"…" He looked away from the mouse and stared at her as if saying 'You can't be serious'

"Oh, but I _am_ serious…"

"No…"

* * *

_Several Days Later…_

Kurama was sitting near his desk, looking over his homework. The questions were easy, but he was having trouble concentrating on it, like usual. Just minutes before, he finished his report with Kagome, and she left…

Though he has already talked with her several times by now, it was still difficult to confront her face to face. He sighed-- A blur whizzed through his window and he looked towards the movement, only to find himself staring at his favorite fire apparition.

"As always, it's a pleasure to see you, Hiei. I notice that you still refuse to use the door…" He greeted him, and slowly stood up.

"I want to talk to you about Kagome." He got straight to the point. His words almost made him falter in his movements.

"Kagome?" He repeated. "Did you just call her by name?"

For some reason the idea that Hiei has already started calling her by her first name, seemed to make him feel unsettled. Why would he call her name if he has only met her once? I'm sure she gained some of his respect when she was able to beat him in their small bout, but that wasn't enough-- A sudden thought came into his mind. Has he-- has he visited her after that? It was the only explanation. After all, he knew where she lived and he could see her anytime he wanted…

"Why does it concern you?" Hiei asked.

"No reason…" He shook his head softly.

"Is there a way to bypass her mental barriers?" He asked.

"Your Jagan is unable to?" He questioned, surprised.

"No…" He snorted, obviously upset by it.

"I'm sorry, but unless she lets her guard down, you won't be able to." He plainly stated.

"Damn woman…" He mumbled to himself while reaching into his pocket. "I never know what she is thinking…"

He pulled out a small seed and unconsciously placed it near his neck. The movement made Kurama raise his eyebrow in question, wondering what he was doing-- Suddenly, a small black mouse popped out of his shirt collar, before it hopped onto his shoulder.

"Is that a mouse?"

"…" It squeaked, before it stood on its hind legs and started to nibble on the seed. "…No."

He then disappeared in a blur of speed, leaving no room for argument…


	5. A Normal Day

_Kagome looked down, only finding the jewel. There was nothing left of him--_

"_That was incredible Lady Kagome!" One of the guards spoke praise towards her. She slowly bent down and picked up the desired object, before looking at its surface in regret. "It just took one shot and--!" He gave a small laugh. "That fox was a fool to even--"_

"_**Silence!!!**__" She shouted, while sending him a heated glare, her eyes glowing white in warning. _

"…" _He gulped and almost dropped his spear, shocked by her sudden outburst. She sighed, her eyes returning to heir normal color, but she still had on her emotionless facade as she continued to stare at the few guards who surrounded the small area. _

"_The events that happened today, is never to be spoken of again, is that understood?" She spoke coldly to them. _

"_Y-yes Ma'am!" He stuttered and got into salute, yet his hands were still trembling in fear. She's never yelled at them like that before-- The others followed and quickly saluted as well, showing their loyalty to obey her orders. She calmly walked past them, going back towards the castle. _

_A silent tear rolled down her cheek…_

Kagome shot out of bed, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. She slowly raised her hand, and covered her face. She took a deep breath, and exhaled softly, calming down.

"Not again…" She mumbled to herself. Glancing beside her, she got a good look at her clock. "2:27 Damn." She's only been a sleep for 2hours-- She cursed inside her head and slowly laid back down onto her pillow.

All night, since 7 o'clock, she has been staring at the ceiling, wishing to fall asleep, but it has always been the same, she never does. She sighed again and looked at the familiar settings of her ceiling. If she does fall asleep it's only for an hour or two at the most, until she is jolted awake--- She rolled onto her side and clinched the covers to her chest, while curling herself into a small ball.

It has been like this, a never ending cycle of sleepless nights and hunting dreams. Most of the nightmares are of her past mistakes or regrets, and she wasn't surprised to see them focused around _him_…

It all started once she came back home, and she knew why. She looked down sadly and pulled the covers closer to her face.

"I can hear its pleading, even now…" She whispered. The Earth was begging her, to give it some of her power. The moment she placed her feet onto its rich soil, the voice echoed in the back of her mind, wanting help.

Her powers were so advanced, and she was so in tuned with it at this point that she couldn't ignore it, nor could she turn away. Back when she was younger, she wasn't able to hear it, but now she could. The Earth was wounded by man and its thoughtlessness, so much that it was desperate enough to reach out for her help. It needed her pure energy, and though she knew her power wouldn't be enough to even dent the surface, she couldn't stay no, it was not in her nature to decline such a saddened plea for help.

In the Demon World, she never had this problem. The planet there supported demonic energy and was constantly fighting against her powers. It was actually fueling her body, training her in a way that she would be unable to do on her own, but here-- It was different. Her powers were suppose to be as one and help humans, but it seems that has been a bad thing ever since she got here.

She could not refuse the plea, so she has allowed the Earth to slowly drain her energy, and it has been doing so greedily ever since she has been home. It has exhausted her powers, making her feel tired. At first she thought it would be alright, since she could just replenish her energy if she got a good night sleep, but that was not the case. The Earth has zapped so much of her powers that it has made her physically and mentally tired to the point where she is unable to fall asleep.

Though this has been slowly weakening her day by day, she still refuses to block the Earth from draining her. It has taken her energy in large amounts, but she has grown so powerful that it's not as serious as you would think. It has been several weeks and it has only taken 25percent of her strength, so she is not worried about it taking all of her energy to the point of helplessness, but she does know she will be weakened severely by it.

At first it wasn't so bad, and she was able to sleep without much trouble, but as the days went on and more and more of her energy was taken away, she was sleeping less and less. Now she is at the point where most of her nights are spent lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, wishing to sleep because she felt completely exhausted. Yet lately it has been getting worse. Before, when she did fall sleep, she would have dreamless nights, but now they have been filled with her past memories, and it has started to affect her in a different way.

She would jolt awake, only having a few hours of rest, and for the remainder of the night she would be unable to go back to sleep…

She sighed and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling once more. Though she knew it was hopeless and she probably won't fall back to sleep, she figured that it wouldn't hurt to try…

* * *

A large yawn escaped her lips and she lazily raised her hand, rubbing her eye tiredly. She glanced over at her clock, and it read 4:56. She slowly sat up, realizing she wasn't going to fall sleep anytime soon.

She placed her feet onto the floor, and got out of bed. Walking towards her dresser, she started to unbutton her long sleeve shirt, before it fell motionlessly onto the floor, leaving her dressed only in her undergarments. She slowly opened her dresser drawers, and she picked out something comfortable to wear, before leaving her room and going to the bathroom to take a shower.

She stood in the tub, staring at the showerhead with a blank expression, the warm liquid pounding on her skin. Why did most of those dreams have to be about him? She questioned, lifting her hand and placing it over her heart. Out of all the things she did in her life, that was the freshest thing in her mind, even after 15 years-- She looked down sadly, before reaching out and turning off the shower.

She carefully stepped out of the tub, the water slowly kissed her skin as it dripped off her body. She sighed before reaching for a towel to dry off.

If only she could forget…

* * *

Kagome descended the stairs, dressed in a pair of boxers, a baggy T-shirt which was way too large for her, and a towel that was wrapped neatly around her head, keeping her wet hair from dripping all over the place.

She causally walked into the living room and opened the cabinet below the T.V. She scanned the tons and tons of video games that Sota bought and sighed. Does he spend every allowance he has ever gotten on video games? She smiled at the thought, before pulling out a game she has not beaten yet, and plucked the disk out from its case. She turned on the console, and placed the game into the system. She picked up the controller that was resting on top of it, before walking to the couch and lazily plopping herself onto it.

Reaching over she picked up the T.V remote, pressed the power button, and quickly switching it to the right channel. She pressed her back against the armrest, and relaxed. She then raised her legs over the top of the couch, and crossed her ankles. She gave a small laugh as she wiggled her toes playfully. A shower always makes her feel better-- Knowing her hair must be dry enough by now, she reached up and pulled off her towel, before slinging it across the room, onto the lounge chair.

She smiled to herself as the menu screen started blinking on the T.V, and she pressed the Start Button, ready to kick some zombie tail…

* * *

She paused in her zombie killing spree when a small shimmer of light sneaked its way through the curtains, and was perfectly positioned across her eye. Glaring at the offending light she paused her game and got off of the couch. As she walked towards the curtain she smiled, realizing it was still early in the morning, and instead of closing the fabric she spread the cloth open, reviling a large window, along with a beautiful scene.

She looked towards the clock and saw it was close to 7 o'clock. After a few moments to herself, she walked back to the couch and picked up the controller. She un-paused it and started to shoot like a wild man, and dashed towards the nearest save point. When she finally reached her goal she huffed, turned off the T.V and gaming system.

She knew that it was Sunday, her family will sleep in today, so she decided it would be as good of a time as any to leave. She was craving some delicious bread. She has been very fond of it every since she has gotten home…

She slowly ascended the stairs, so she could change into something more suitable for the occasion…

* * *

Kagome casually strolled down the street, wearing a simple dark blue dress. As she walked she couldn't help but feel her mouth watering, thinking about the wonderful bread that awaited her at her favorite bakery.

Ever since she came back home, she found this little bakery and the moment she step through the door she knew it was meant for her. She started to hum a small tune, until she stood in front of a familiar building-- Her stomach growled, showing its excitement, and she laughed before walking into the lovely store.

Knowing where she was going she walked to the desk, seeking out her favorite bread to start off. She quickly found it and stared at it longingly as it laid there, waiting to be eaten--

"Hello Kagome, nice to see you have returned." A familiar voice called to her behind the desk. She looked over and saw a man, who looked no older then 20, smile at her. She smiled back, finding his greeting to be pleasant. "You here for the usual?" He asked while softly wiping the desk clean with a dry cloth.

"Hey Kin, glad to see you're up early." She greeted as well. "And no, I was thinking about trying a few different types today as well."

"Alright then, take your time." He flashed another warming smile.

She sighed, finding his charming attitude delightful. He was rather good-looking, with his short black hair and brown eyes, but she was not attracted to him in that way. He was a nice man, and he probably was the one who made most of the bread that she loved so much, but she just didn't feel that kind of connection with him. She reached over and picked up her loaf of bread. Inhaling its delicious aroma, she sighed in contentment, before pulling a small piece off and plopping it into her awaiting mouth. She gave a soft moan in delight as the wondrous flavor hit her tongue.

"Hey." He called to her. "Don't eat the bread before buying it!" He shouted.

"You know I'm good for it…" She smiled at him, before placing the bread to her mouth and started to nibble on it, just to push his buttons.

"I'm serious…" He told her. She grinned, and then stuck her tongue out at him before walking down an aisle, still nibbling on the bread. "Sigh…" He voiced his distress and rubbed his face in frustration.

As she walked pass an aisle she had to pause and double take. She smirked, seeing a familiar figure on the other side of the corridor. Softly and quietly she placed one foot in front of the other, stalking her prey. She snuck up behind him and smiled when he still did not notice her, too occupied with trying to make a decision.

"Hello Kurama." She whispered into his ear in a cooling tone. He jumped in surprise and whipped around to face her. She witnessed his emerald orbs widened with shock, like they always do when she visits him unannounced-- She hummed to herself, a smirk on her face.

"Kagome." He greeted in his usual calm domineer. "Why are you here?"

"This is my favorite bakery. You know that." She stated. "Yet you look surprised to see me."

"By studying your reports, I know you only come to the bakery in the evenings." He stated

"Oh, I see." She sighed. "You purposely came in the morning just to make sure you wouldn't run into me, right?" That's why he is so shocked--

"Seems you caught me with my hands red…" He mumbled, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal.

She was about to say something, when she frowned, noticing something was wrong-- She just realized that she is unable to sense his demonic aura. She had to stop herself from slapping her own forehead from sheer idiocy. Why didn't she catch it sooner?! Was he suppressing it? She mentally shook her head. No. He hasn't done do so before, why now? She then got an idea of how to test it--

"So you're only talking to me because of your job, and the truth is that you really don't like me?" She questioned innocently. Reaching out with her free hand, she held a small lock of his red-hair, and then bent down extremely close to it, her cheek brushing against his. "But I like _you_…" She whispered. She could feel a small amount of heat coming from his pink cheeks.

A familiar pressure to her senses spiked and she sighed in relief. It took this close before she was able to read his aura? She questioned. So, he isn't blocking her or suppressing it-- What other reason is there? Her eyes widened when a thought came to mind. Maybe she has been weakened more then she first calculated? Has the Earth drained _that_ much power?

"I am honored that you would say such things to me, but I don't like you that way Kagome." He told her. Bending back slightly, he pulled his hair away from her loose grasp and he sighed deeply.

"You know I meant it in the friendliest manner possible." She smirked at him. "I did not mean to sound lustful in my words…" She raised her hand, and took a small bite out of her bread.

"Of course…" His attention went to her mouth as she nibbled on her small snack. After a few seconds he blinked in realizing and turned around, going back to what he was doing before he met her-- Staring at several different choices of bread, unable to really decide.

"You should get them all." She gave him some advice. "Would be better then picking one, only to end up disliking it."

"I suppose your right, but I did not bring enough money for--"

"I'll pay for it all." She offered. He paused at her words, before glancing at her over his shoulder. "Do not look so surprised. I wanted to try them out sooner or later." She told him. "If I buy them, you would have to give me a small amount of each one, so I can try them for myself. Sound like a deal?"

"…" He smirked at her words. "Who can deny a proposal like that?" He accepted.

She smiled, before turning away from him, going to retrieve a basket. She had a feeling they would need it…

* * *

Kagome walked down the street, a smile on her face and a bag hanging from each hand, full of bread. She stole a glance beside her and caught a glimpse of familiar emerald orbs, as they stared off in the distance with a hazed sheen to them. He was only carrying one bag, while his other hand was placed into his pocket.

As they exited the store he asked if it was alright for him to accompany her on her way home. He wished to be kinder to her, and it was probably his way of paying her back for the free bread, but she knew how he truly felt about it--

She could feel it in his energy, it was practically oozing out of his body as he talked to her-- Fear, uneasiness, regret, distrust… It took all of his strength to ask her if he could walk with her-- Does he really hate her that much--? She looked down sadly and sighed. She hasn't really done anything to make him so angry with her… has she?

Taking another glance at him, she noticed he was still in his own world. She had to resist another sigh that threatened to escape her lips. He hasn't once spoken to her the whole time they have been walking, and they were almost to the shrine…

Something caught her eye and she paused in her stride, turning her full attention to the store beside them. It didn't take long, just a few seconds, for Kurama to realize that she stopped moving, and he too ceased his walk, staring at her.

"Is something the matter Kagome?" He asked calmly.

She didn't answer him, but instead her eyes sparkled with delight and her face took a lovely shade of red as she stared longingly through the store window. She walked up to the large display area, and as she continued to gaze at the items her hands loosened, the bread that she loved so much slipped out of her grasp, falling with a soft thud onto the stone walkway, yet the sound never reached her ears. A deep sigh of contentment and joy flowed out of her lips and her blush deepened.

"Beautiful…" She whispered to herself, while placing her hand onto the glass.

"You like Crystal Figurines?" He asked, a surprisingly gentle tone in his voice.

"Yes…" Her expression soften, and she gave a small smile. "Ever since I was little I enjoyed staring at them, but I could never afford such things." She looked down sadly. "Demon World does not have things like this…"

"Are you going to buy one now then?"

"I--" She almost laughed at her foolishness. "I spent all my money on the bread." She confessed. All the weeks she has been home she has done nothing but buy bread-- "I'm broke…" This time she did give a small laugh. "Yet I don't regret it, the bread was very good." 500 years is a long time, and it seems she forgot her attachment for the lovely crystal art until it was too late.

"I see…" He whispered. "Couldn't you ask Sesshomaru to give you more?" He knew that's where her spending money must have come from. She shook her head.

"I don't have any means to contact him." She told him. "He is unable to come to the Human World, so the only way is by messenger, but he has not sent one yet, which isn't surprising…"

"Why is that?" He seemed curious.

"He would only send someone if it was of great importance and he needed me."

"Hmm… I suppose that is understandable."

"Well…" She gave a disappointed sigh before she finally looked away from the glass. "We should be going now--" Her foot bumped against something, making a small crinkling noise. She gave a small gasp and placed her hand over her lips. "My bread!!"

She gave a small squeak of horror, and quickly bent down, picking up her discarded bread she dropped moments before. Hearing a small chuckle she paused and looked to her side. Kurama was watching her, a deep sound rumbled through his chest, before he cleared his throat and stared into her blue pools.

"What's so funny?" She stood up and glared at him with a huff.

"_You_…" He answered, while he continued to look at her, an amused expression on his face. "You really do love those crystals, don't you?" She was surprised at his gentle tone.

As she looked upon his figure, she found herself unable to look away. This was the first time she has seen him look so natural around her-- Noticing she was staring at him, her cheeks flushed red before she turned away from him, embarrassed.

"Y-yes…"

He smirked, then turned away from her and started to walk towards the shrine once more. Realizing she was being left behind she quickly followed until she was by his side. Moments passed and nothing else was said. She sighed in contentment as she sensed his calming energy surround her, already feeling a relaxing effect by it. She smiled to herself as they both strolled down the street, just enjoying each others company.

The rest of their walk continued in silence but she didn't mind, in fact, she loved it…

* * *

Kagome looked at her ceiling, deep in thought. The moon's rays beamed into her room, providing her with little light, but she didn't really care about that.

"Kurama…" She mumbled. Raising her hand she stared at it, a distant expression on her face.

_As she reached her door she extended her hand to turn the knob, but stopped. Turning around she smiled at him. Placing her bags carefully on the ground she raised her hand and gently cupped his cheek in a friendly manner. He seemed surprised at first, but he quickly relaxed._

"_I'll see you when my next report is due." She gave his cheek a soft pat of encouragement. He gave a small chuckle before raising his own hand and waving goodbye to her. She smiled, before picking up her stuff and going into her house._

"My report…" She whispered, before rolling onto her side and sighing in regret. She brought the covers to her chest and curled into a small ball. Her eyes drooped in both exhaustion and boredom.

She could tell that tonight was going to be another long night…

* * *

"Well, I got out of bed." She started her report like she always does.

_She sighed to herself before looking at the clock. It was only 2 o'clock but she knew she was not going to be getting any sleep tonight, so she slowly sat up and got out of bed._

"Then I went to the bathroom and took a shower." She looked down sadly, feeling slight regret for not telling him the truth.

_She walked to her dresser, while unbuttoning her long sleeve shirt. It fell motionlessly on the floor, leaving her dressed only in her undergarments. She opened the drawer and picked out some comfortable clothes to wear. As she went to the bath room she rubbed her eye tiredly and yawned. Why is it always like this…?_

"After I was finished I had breakfast with my family."

_She continued to play video games all night, feeling better after she slain a few dragons. After endless hours of hacking and slashing she noticed the sun was peaking through the curtain, but she didn't pay attention to it._

_Sota, her brother, walked pass the doorway and he paused in his stride to look at her questionably._

"_How long have you been up?" He asked._

"_A while…" She mumbled. "Ahh--!!! STUPID BOSS!!! DIE!!!" She screamed in anger and started to pound the X button. Suddenly the screen turned black with large red letters saying 'GAME OVER'. She growled, venting her frustration on the controller as she slammed it repeatedly on the couch._

"_Umm… sure." He shook his head before leaving her to wallow in her own defeat, going to fetch grandpa's newspaper. Several moments later he passed the doorway again, paper in hand. "Breakfast should be ready soon." He told her._

"_Okay…" _

"Then Grandpa and I started to have a discussion about stone golems…"

"_So I walked up to him and punched him in the face." She stated. "And that's how the rock brothers joined our forces." She took a sip of her tea, remembering her favorite comedians of the group. _

_Ishi and Tane-- How were the twins fairing? She wondered. They were lovely demons and strikingly good-looking, like most demons she knew. They were able to manipulate rock or any kind of earth base material which was very powerful technique in combat, when used correctly. _

"_That was a wonderful story Kagome." Her grandfather praised her. "You always come up with the most fascinating tales, and it's a different story every morning! Where do you get your ideas?"_

"_Oh, you know…" She mumbled, looking down at her tea sadly. "They just come to me in my dreams…"_

Hearing a soft cough she looked towards Kurama. He sighed in disappointment while writing the report down.

"Anything else beside your usual routine of getting out of bed and eating breakfast?" He asked.

She shook her head and smiled to herself, wondering when she would ever tell him the truth…


	6. Guardian

Kurama walked outside, the warming rays of the sun hit his body, making him sigh in contentment as his skin started to tingle at the contact. He closed the door with a soft click and he walked from the pathway towards the side of the house.

Today he was wearing a long sleeve buttoned up shirt and baggy jeans. The clothing was slightly torn in places, and was covered in grass stains and dirt, the usual signs of working cloths. As he approached the corner of the house he started to roll up his sleeves, revealing his well toned arms.

Today was a nice day. He was off from school today, and they couldn't have picked a more perfect day to do so. The air was calm and the sun was warm-- He paused in his stride when something caught his attention. He reached over and touched one of the roses that were planted at the border of the house. As he inspected it closely he realized it was lacking some nourishment and he sighed. He was wanting to work on the side of the house today and plant some new flowers, expanding his garden, but it seems that he might have to put some of his work hours into the front roses and…

He started to think to himself about the possibility of postponing his plan and moving it to Sunday instead. He sighed, figuring it was not the best idea. After all, Sunday is when Kagome is supposed to come over and give him the next report.

"Well, she usually comes on the third day but she has been known to come on the forth…" He mumbled. "If that's the case she might show on Monday, leaving me room to do my gardening on Sunday-- Ahh~" He winced slightly and looked down at his hand. He sighed as he spotted blood seeping out of a small prick on his pointer finger, caused by the rose he was examining moments before. Lately he has been getting lost in thought, especially when it was about Kagome, and that was not a good thing…

He placed the tip of his finger to his lips, the copper taste touched his tongue and he closed his eyes. The image of Kagome's smiling face filled his mind and he had to resist another sigh. Even now Kagome still hasn't realized his true identity, and he hoped it would stay that way, but he had to wonder how long it would last. He knows she will find out sooner or later…

"Hello Kurama…" A cooling voice flowed passed his ears. He snapped his emerald eyes open, and was greeted by a cheerful deep blue staring back. His eyes widened slightly and he slowly pulled his finger out of his mouth.

"Kagome…" He whispered. Snapping out of his shock he cleared his throat. "What are you doing here?" And just as he was thinking about her-- Coincidence?

"I came to see you of course."

"You're early…" He paused. "Again." He noted. She has been appearing a day or two ahead of her appointed time lately… At first he didn't think anything of it, but now he believes there is something more to it.

"I enjoy talking to you." She confessed. "Your voice is deep, yet soft. Not to mention you smell _very_ good…" She complimented.

"I smell good?"

"Your scent is like that of wild roses, it's quite relaxing." She inhaled deeply while closing her eyes. "It's quite lovely really…"

"Thank you?" His tone showed slight confusion. She shrugged and reached over, gently touching one of the roses.

"I also noticed that the days I talk with you, I sleep a lot better then usual…" She started to mumble to herself. She's still having trouble sleeping? This fact slightly concerned him and he looked down in thought.

"Well, if you want to talk, I guess I don't mind…" He gave in. "As long as I am able to continue my work as we do so…" He made conditions.

"No problem!" She agreed and stepped to the side, out of his way. He sighed and kneeled down, inspecting the flowers more closely.

"What do you wish to discuss?" He asked, while touching a newly budding rose.

"Did you plant all these your--" She cut herself off. "Is that your mother?" She questioned curiously.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her change in subject and looked at her. Seeing her gaze was focus to the entrance of the house, he turned his attention in that direction and spotted his mother stepping out of the door. "Yes it is." He answered, while watching his mother close the door with a soft click. "It would be best if you hide. I don't want her seeing you." He looked back towards her-- only to find she wasn't there.

"Hello Miss Minamino!! Pleasant day we are having uh!?" Kagome's cheerful voice fell into his ears. His heart stopped beating, and he die right there--! He whipped his head around so fast he could practically hear his neck snap at the movement.

"Today _is_ a nice day." His mother agreed with her. "But who are you?" She asked her.

"Kagome--!!" He hissed her name. She just looked his way and waved at him cheerfully, smiling. He sighed in regret and slowly stood up, walking towards them.

"My name is Kagome." She greeted. "I'm a friend of your son, Suichi, and I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Minamino!" She reached over and started to shake her hand happily. "I have heard many good things about you."

"Oh, isn't that nice!" She cooed. "I'm glad to see that Suichi has some female friends. I was starting to get worried about him. I was afraid he would never meet a girl, but I'm happy that my son is finally starting to show some interest-- Oh how they grow up so fast…"

"Mother…" He mumbled, his cheeks glowing a faint color of pink. He sighed as Kagome gave a soft laugh, enjoying his embarrassment. His mother and Kagome then started to chat about this and that, what about, he didn't know, he wasn't really paying attention. It was at that point that he noticed she was carrying her purse. "Are you going somewhere Mother?" He asked.

"Hmm?" She looked down at her purse and sighed. "Yes, I have to go to the bank today."

"I see…"

"Oh!" Kagome suddenly exclaimed. "I have something I wish to give you." She gently grabbed his mother's hand and slipped something over it, while flashing a warming smile. As he looked at the object he immediately knew what it was.

"Prayer Beads?" He mumbled to himself. They looked like them, but they were pure white and seemed more like pearls then anything else--

"They are lovely, but I can't accept something like this." She objected, staring at the beads as they softly rested on her wrist.

"Don't be so modest!" She smiled at her. "I've wanted to meet you for a while now, and I wished to give you this gift." She tried to convince to her keep it. "It's supposed to bring the wearer good luck!" Why does she want her to keep it so badly--? Something was wrong, and he knew it. The idea left him on edge and he watched Kagome closely, looking for any clues as to why she was acting this way.

"If you put it that way…" She mumbled. "I don't see why not." She finally agreed.

"That's good." She gave a small sigh, as if in relief.

"Oh, look at the time. I have to leave now or I'll miss the bus." She placed her hand to her cheek in worry and sighed. "I'm sorry if it seems like I am being rude…"

"No problem at all, I understand." Kagome tried to reassure her.

"It was nice meeting you-- Kagome, was it?" She just nodded. "Suichi, there is food in the fridge incase you get hungry while I'm gone."

"Yes Mother."

"Now don't overwork yourself."

"Yes Mother."

"And make sure to clean up after you're finished…"

"Of course…" He sighed. She reached up and patted his cheek in encouragement, and he smiled at her.

"I'll see you when I get back."

"Have a safe trip, Miss Minamino." Kagome spoke in a soft and saddened tone, making him turn his head towards her in question.

"Please call me Shiori." She smiled.

"Shiori." She tested the name and gave a small smile. She then left them to their own thoughts, walking down the pathway and to the street.

"Well…" Kagome broke the silence and looked at him. "I guess I'll leave you to your work."

"…?" He stared at her for a few seconds. "But I thought you wanted to talk to me?"

"I did…" She mumbled and looked away. "But I can talk to you some other time, when you're not so busy." She waved at him, smiling. "I'll see you later."

"Wait--" He tried to stop her, but before he could she disappeared in a flash of speed, leaving him alone.

He looked down in deep concentration. He wanted to ask her why she gave his mother those prayer beads, but it was too late now. He turned around and started walking towards the roses. What Kagome said before--

"_Have a safe trip, Miss Minamino." Kagome spoke in a soft and saddened tone, making him turn his head towards her in question._

The way she said it-- He was slightly worried about his mother, but deep down he knew Kagome would never hurt her, so he passed it off as his imagination.

He then keeled down in front of his roses, and all thoughts of Kagome slowly faded away from his mind…

* * *

Kurama sat in the living room, reading a book. He turned the page and started scanning over the words. Hearing the door creak open he paused in his reading, before looking towards the clock. It couldn't be his mother-- it was still too early. He closed the book with a soft snap and got up, moving to the doorway.

As he walked pass the entranceway he looked down the hall, and sure enough it was his mother. He gently strolled over to her, worry was etched into his face.

"Mother, welcome home."

"Hello Suichi" She greeted as well. She placed her purse on the small counter. She then sighed, while rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly. He could tell something was wrong.

"Is something the matter?"

"Well…" She slowly walked into the living room. He knew what to do, so he went into the kitchen and started to make some tea. It did not take long, and he walked into the living room, and handed her the cup. "Thank you…" She then took a small sip and sighed. He stood by her side, still worried. "I wasn't able to make it to the bank, so I'll have to go tomorrow…" She told him.

"What happened?" He asked.

"It seems luck wasn't on my side today. Bad things, one right after another, just continued to happen to me." She mumbled, taking another sip. He then walked to the other side of the room, to the T.V, searching for the remote. "I lost my contact, and it took me forever to find it. Then someone bumped into me and I dropped my purse, spilling everything. If that didn't beat it all, I lost my other contact…" She sighed and reached up, pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose. "In the end, all that trouble made me miss the bus, and it was the last one running today." He exhaled deeply and walked back towards her, handing her the T.V remote. "Thank you…"

"It seems that Kagome's good-luck charm did not work like it was intended…" He noted, trying to liven up the mood.

"Yeah…" She looked down at her wrist and gasped. "It's gone-!" She frowned. "I must have lost it somewhere…" Her voice was laced with sadness, obviously upset by it.

"Hmm…" He stared at her wrist in wonder-- The T.V clicked on and the voice of a man fell into his ears.

"Earlier today a horrible accident happened on ----- Street. Bus 27 was hit by a truck, causing it to flip over. Reports say that the man behind the wheel fell asleep, and that's how the accident occurred. Many were injured and at least 3 people died. We will report back when more information is available."

"How horrible…" His mother spoke. "Wait-- Isn't that the bus I was suppose to take today?" She just realized.

"What--?!" He turned towards the T.V, and saw the image of the bus flipped over, debris everywhere. It was a wreck. He then looked back at his mother, who placed her hand onto her cheek in shock.

"Maybe there was someone watching over me today…"

"Maybe…" He mumbled, staring at her bare wrist.

Could it be--? He mentally shook his head, emptying his mind from any speculation. He'll question it later, for now he was just glad his mother was safe…

* * *

Kurama was inside of his room, sitting at his desk. You could hear soft taps as he drummed his lead pencil against his workbook in thought. He gave a light hum, staring at the unanswered sheet, not a single problem was written down--

"Kagome…" He mumbled the root of his problems. He couldn't get her out of his head long enough to concentrate on his work. He closed his eyes and sighed, finally ceasing his tapping.

A big test was coming up and he wished to prepare for it, though he knew he probably would pass with flying colors even if he didn't-- He just wanted something to occupy his time, keeping his mind busy, so he would stop thinking about her, but his plan was not working as well as he had hoped.

He opened his eyes slowly and looked back onto the workbook. Just concentrate-- His eyebrows slanted together, causing a small wrinkle to appear on his forehead, showing his determination. His eyes completely focused on the first equation and his mind started reeling, trying to calculate the answer inside of his head--

"X=26" A soft voice brushed across his ear-- His eyes widened with surprise and the pencil gave a crisp snapped, breaking from the sudden strain. He could feel her lips graze against his ear as they curled into a small smile. "Didn't mean to scare you like that…" She whispered.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his beating heart. He cleared his throat before turning his head to face her, but he soon found out that was a bad idea-- For she did not move from her spot, which caused their noses to touch and he could practically feel her hot breath flow across his dry lips.

"K-Kagome…" He slightly stuttered, losing his cool as his cheeks flushed pink.

"Kurama." She calmly greeted back. Another small laugh escaped her lips at his embarrassment, finding it amusing. She then decided to stop picking on him and slowly stood up while backing away, giving him room. After she was a respectable distance away he sighed in relief, before staring at her curiously.

"You wish to continue our little chat from this morning?" He asked. After all, she left rather abruptly…

"…" Her eyes drooped, saddened for some reason, and she reached over, picking up yet another object which laid on his desk, examining it lazily. "How is your mother?" She asked. His body immediately tensed at her words, and he watched her carefully.

"She's fine…" He answered.

"That's good…" She sighed, before placing the object back on his desk.

"I am sorry to say but she lost the prayer beads you gave her." He continued to study her movements, watching her reactions. So far he hasn't seen anything suspicious…

"That's to be expected, after all, you did say she was okay." Her words rang into his ears.

"You knew-- Didn't you?" He asked. His emerald eyes narrowed at her and his expression turned deadly serious. "About the bus accident."

"Not exactly." She shrugged. "I just knew she was going to die today."

"W--" His breath caught in his throat and his body froze. "What did you say?"

"Your mother--" She repeated herself. "Was fated to die today." Her blue orbs locked onto his, and she looked at him seriously.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" He growled. He quickly stood up, the fast action caused his chair to flip over and fall onto the floor. "I could have--!!"

"You could have what--?!" She narrowed her eyes at him and her tone rose in anger. "There was nothing you could have done even if I told you." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Sorry, your energy affected me--" She mumbled, reaching up and gently rubbing her face while sighing.

"I'm the one to blame, I shouldn't have snapped at you." He looked down, trying to calm himself.

"I didn't know how she was going to die." She confessed. "The moment I saw her I could sense the dark aura that surrounded her. It was practically suffocating me." She told him. "Just by that I knew her death was very close."

"I see…" He crouched and picked up his chair, before sitting back down. "Even if I didn't know the details I could have followed her and--"

"I told you before, it would have changed nothing." She stated. "She was fated to die, and nothing you or I could have physically done would've stopped death from taking her. Even if I knew it was because of a bus accident, and we stopped her, death would have found another way to kill her."

"Then I am guessing that's why you gave her those prayer beads?"

"Yes." She nodded. Reaching her hand out, a small pink orb formed in her hand before it took shape and molded into the familiar beads. "It is made from my pure holy powers so it acted at a ward, and protected her from death's touch-- She should be safe for a few more years." The beads then cracked, before it burst into tiny particles.

"Thank you…" He whispered.

"You don't have to think me. I couldn't let her die…" She replied.

"How about I buy you some bread later?" He offered.

"That would be great…" She gave a soft smile. After a few moments she looked down, deep in thought. "It's too bad that I can only sense it on humans…" She mumbled to herself. "I can't feel death's approach on demons. My powers are only in tune with humans, and do not mix well when it comes to demonic powers." She sighed, then reached up and unconsciously started to touch the blue gem hanging on her neck. "If I could, I might have been able to stop it…" She looked down in regret. He looked away from her sad expression and felt the heavy weight of guilt slam into his chest.

Even after 15 years she still carried the necklace that he gave her. When she said that she still thought of him as a friend-- he was relieved and happy, but he knew deep down that the necklace was a constant reminder that she _killed _him-- Her friend…

"Well, since I know your mother is alright I'm going to leave now, so you can continue studying…" Her voice echoed in his mind, snapping him out of his thoughts. He watched as she placed her hand onto the window frame, getting ready to jump.

"Kagome--!!" He suddenly called to her, causing her to pause in her departure. "Kagome, I…" He stared into her deep blue pools, gathering up the courage to tell her the truth."Kagome I--" He swallowed hard, trying to clear the lump caught in his throat. "I…" Say it! The words repeated in his mind. "I am…" His mouth went dry and he was having a hard time finding his voice. "I'll see you later." He raised his hand and waved goodbye.

She smiled at him, then nodded towards him in reply, before leaping outside, going home-- His chance to tell her the truth flew out the window, literally…

"I am Yoko…" He whispered out, finally speaking the words that were screaming in his mind. "I am Yoko..." He repeated, slamming his fist onto the desk. Three simple words-- Why couldn't he say it!? "I am Yoko..." He growled out. His jaw clinched in frustration and he clamped his eyes shut. "I am Yoko…" He lowered his head in shame, and it softly thumped against the wooden surface.

Please forgive me…


	7. A Good Nights Rest

_Sesshomaru strolled back and forth in a leisurely pace in front of his desk. People would recognize the motion as 'pacing' but Sesshomaru doesn't pace, because pacing is something you do when you're worried, and Sesshomaru __**never**__ worries…_

_There was a small tap at his door and he paused in his 'stroll' quickly staring at the wooden entryway. He had a good guess of who it was--_

"_Enter." He commanded in his usual cooling voice. The door slowly creaked open, and the sight that greeted him was not what he expected. His eyes widened, slightly surprised. "Kagome…"_

_She looked at him with dull eyes, while small tears trailed silently down her cheek._

"_Sesshomaru…" She sadly whispered. Unable to hold back any longer, tears quickly flooded her eyes and tumbled down in waves. She then dashed towards him and collided with his chest, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. She buried her face into his kimono, soaking his clothing. "He…" She choked out, before a sob escaped her trembling lips. Her body started to shudder, while her hold on him tightened. _

"_I know." He told her. "I have already been informed…"_

"_I killed him--!!" She yelled out in sorrow. A large cry fell into his ears, followed by whimpers. _

_Slowly Sesshomaru raised his arms, before gently enclosing them around her, and for the first time, he embraced someone… _

_Her body trembled beneath his, and her cries still slammed into his ears with full force. He knew that no matter what he said, his words wouldn't reach her, so instead he just held her tighter. She cried and cried, until her voice grew hoarse and she was unable to produce tears, yet she still continued to morn in heartache._

"_Kagome…"_

_All he could do is watch, as the most powerful woman he has ever met broke down, and her spirit slowly crumbled…_

Kagome shot out of bed, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. A soft whimper escaped her trembling lips, and she raised her hand, pressing it against her cheek. She could feel a warm liquid slid down her face, and gilded over her fingers. Her chest ached, so she placed her hand over her heart, to try and sooth the pain, but it was not helping.

Her vision became burry, and was quickly flooded by large droplets that were falling from her eyes. She cried, while placing her hands over her face, blocking her from the rest of the world. Her body started trembling as the familiar feelings of sorrow and guilt surrounded her. The once quiet house was now filled with sobs, as the cries echoed throughout dark and lonely room…

"Yoko…"

* * *

The room was deadly silent, except for the soft sounds of light breathing, as owner of the room was sleeping soundlessly on the bed. A small click flowed around the room, but the sound went unnoticed-- The old window gave a creak as it was slowly opened. The curtains blocking the glass, started to shuffle as the wind blew across its surface.

A foot carefully exposed itself from below the curtain, before silently placing itself onto the floor. It was soon followed by another identical appendage, before the person slowly entered the room in a graceful fashion.

"…" Dull eyes scanned the room, before a disappointed sigh escaped their lips. They closed the window with a soft click, and kept the curtains closed, leaving the room in pitch darkness, but the intruder didn't mind being left in the dark.

With careful movements it approached the bed, and looked down at the man sleeping peacefully without any idea…

"Kurama…" She whispered his name, with a saddened expression.

Why was she here? She questioned to herself. She knew he probably would be asleep, but she came anyway-- Why did she come? Looking down at his restful face she sighed yet again. She watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took, taking note that he was without a shirt. After several minutes of watching him sleep she looked away from him and glanced around the room.

She believed coming here would bring her to a sense of peace. After that dream-- She looked down sadly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to flood her vision. After crying for so long, she had the idea that if she came here, she would feel better…

She almost laughed at the idea-- How could he help her? She shook her head in doubt before glancing at his sleeping form. Even if she did not want to admit it, deep down she knew that he was her only hope.

For some reason, after she gets done talking with him, she is able to get an extra hour of sleep. He was able to relax her, making her fall sleep quicker, without having to stare at the ceiling for hours. She didn't know how, or why, but her body felt calm around him.

His voice was deep and full of intelligence. His eyes were a shade of green that she had trouble looking away from, and his scent-- She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. His scent filled this room, it was the smell of wild roses-- Like _him_…

Why does he smell like him? She questioned. The scent that relaxed her, and made her feel safe anytime he was near-- He had Yoko's scent.

Maybe that's why she came here tonight? She looked down sadly and sighed. His aroma allowed her to feel calm, and the pain from before was slowly fading away with each breath of his lovely scent.

Feeling tired, both physically and mentality, she took a seat at the foot of his bed. A large yawn escaped her lips, before she clicked her tongue together and shifted in her spot. She ran her hand across the bed, enjoying the softness of it. It was quite comfortable, and she felt slightly jealous by the fact that it was better then her own. She smiled before looking back at his resting form, seeing that he hasn't moved since she got here.

He was lying on his back, his cover was pulled up to his stomach, exposing his well toned chest and arms for her to see. One hand was resting on his chest, while the other was by above his head. His head was off to one side, and his attractive red hair was spilled across his pillow freely.

She has to resist a laugh, not wanting to wake him from his slumber. It wasn't the most graceful pose she has ever seen, but he did look comfortable…

She sighed again, her eyes drooping in sorrow. If only she could sleep like that again. Just one night of sleep is all she wanted-- She brought her hand up and rubbed her eye lazily. She doesn't mind the lack of sleep, not as much as the drained feeling and nightmares--

Slowly, she lowered her body onto the bed and sighed. Placing her hands behind her head she looked at his ceiling in thought--

"Damn, this _is_ comfortable…" She whispered, while closing her eyes. It didn't compare to the bed she had in the demon world, but it was better then the one at her house.

She rolled onto her side, and pulled her legs fully onto the bed. She inhaled deeply, and the fragrance of roses invaded all her senses, making her relax. Her head started buzzing, wondering why she was still in his room--

"It feels so right…" She mumbled her herself. A soft smile showed on her face and she hummed in delight. Her body melted onto the soft comforter, as the soothing sound of his breathing flowed into her ears.

Her mind started to slowly fade, before it completely went blank…

* * *

A small grunt escaped his lips. Slowly his eyes fluttered open, before he rolled onto his side. After several moments he sighed, listening to the sounds of the birds as they sang outside his window.

Pushing himself into sitting position, he softly placed his feet onto the floor. He gave another grunt as he stood up. Slowly placing one foot in front of the other as he staggered to his window, his red pajama bottoms hugged his hips, but were long enough to be dragging across the floor. Reaching up, he rubbed his cheek, before gliding his fingers through his hair. Even though the room was rather dark, he knew where he was going, for his morning routine has never changed--

Once he reached the window he stretched his hands out and pulled open the curtains, allowing the fresh sunlight to envelop the room in its warm rays. He flinched at the light, before his eyes started to focus and adjust to the sudden exposure. He reached over and opened his window, letting a small breeze flow into his room. Taking a deep breath he sighed, before running his fingers through his hair once more.

He stood there for several minutes, allowing his body wake up and get ready for the work that is to be done for the day. A yawn escaped his lips, before he stretched his arms above his head, and he hummed in satisfaction, turning around.

He took two steps before he faulted her his movements, his orbs wide with shock.

"…!!!!" He froze, unable to completely register what he was seeing. Reaching up he covered one of his eyes with his palm in disbelief, before slowly walking towards her in a zombie-like state.

He stared intensely, wondering if he was seeing things-- Kagome, was laying across the foot of his bed, sleeping. She was on her side, back facing the window, and her bare legs were partly curled. She was only wearing a long sleeve, buttoned up shirt, with her undergarments underneath, obviously her sleeping outfit-- He gazed focused on her bare feet, before slowly creeping up her perfectly shaped legs.

Reaching out he touched her arm and she gave a soft hum. He quickly pulled away, as if burnt, and took a step back.

"At least I know I'm not dreaming…" He mumbled to himself. "But why is she here-- and sleeping in my room?" He questioned, staring at her intensely with a serious expression.

As he continued to watch her sleep, his mind went blank, unsure of what to think. He scratched his head in thought and his eyebrows angled forward, causing his forehead to wrinkle.

"Well, first thing I have to do is get her out of here…" He quickly answered. What was she thinking? Sneaking into his room at night like that and-- She gave a soft moan and rolled over, facing him. He sighed, his anger quickly deflating once his eyes fell onto her happy slumbering form. All he could do was watch her as she continued to sleep.

"She looks so peaceful…" His expression softened. "Kagome…" He reached over and brushed some hair away from her face in a kind gesture. He then grazed his knuckles down her cheek, caressing it. A sigh escaped her lips, and she smiled.

"Kurama…" She mumbled, her cheeks turned a small shade of pink. He smiled-- For the first time, he finally he smiled a true and happy smile…

Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and he pulled his hand away. She looked up at him, then around the room calmly.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" He asked. She shook her head, and lifted herself into sitting position.

"I must have fallen asleep…" She mumbled out. Reaching up, she covered her mouth as a yawn escaped her lips. "I'm sorry." She apologized while rubbing her eye tiredly.

"You don't have to apologize."

"I came last night…" She started to tell him. "I couldn't sleep, and for some reason I thought you could help me…" She placed her feet onto the floor, before standing up.

"Hmm…" He looked down at her before glancing at his bed. "But you fell asleep, didn't you?" He asked.

"Yes…" She looked down, a tint of pink went across her nose.

"Then it seems I was able to help you after all…" He smiled at her. Reaching up he patted her head, showing that he wasn't angry with her.

"You're…" She looked at him, amazed.

"Yes?"

"You're smiling…" She noticed, sighing in relief. Reaching up she gently cupped his cheek in a friendly manner. He was stunned by the action, and could only blink at her in surprise. "You've never smiled when you were around me." She stated. "It makes me happy to see that you've finally relaxed and shown your true self when in my presence."

"Umm…" He didn't know what to say, for once he was at a loss for words.

"You were so tense whenever I was near you-- But now you've changed…" She smiled. "Does that mean we are friends now?" She asked joyously. Her words made him freeze, his body going numb. He watched as her eyes flickered and glowed with excitement, he couldn't help but smile at her innocent expression…

"Yes…" He whispered. "We are…"

* * *

"Kurama!!" She shouted, just as she launched herself into his room. She heard a crisp snap, before a displeased growl from her favorite red-head.

"Please don't do that Kagome…" He pleaded with her, while clicking his lead pencil a few times. "I'll run out of lead if this keeps up." Upset that her surprise attack made him break his pencil.

"Oh…" She sighed. "You're still awake…"

"You sound disappointed…" He noted the tone she was using, and a smirk appeared on his face.

"I was hoping I could scare you while you were sleeping…"

"Sorry to ruin your plan." He scribbled down on his workbook. He was staying up a little late tonight to do some extra work for school.

"No need to apologize, I'll just get you tomorrow…" She smirked. He sighed, before finally pausing in his writing, looking at her.

"Why are you--" His eyes widened slightly and a small tint of pink went across his nose. "Here…?" He quickly turned back around, trying to focus back onto his work. "And why are you in your sleepwear?" He asked.

Like always, she was wearing a long sleeve button up shirt, her undergarments underneath-- and nothing else. Now that he could see her in a well lit room, he was having a hard time keeping his orbs from staring at her smooth legs and slightly exposed chest…

"To sleep with you of course!" _**Snap**_ went his pencil yet again, as he suddenly applied too much pressure.

"You know what you're saying?" He looked at her over his shoulder.

"Yeah…" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Last night I was able to fall asleep…" She looked at him seriously. "It might have just been a fluke, but I don't think it was--" She glanced at the floor and started to shift her weight from one foot to the other. "I already told you that I've been having trouble sleeping…"

"Yes, I remember you mentioning that to me before…"

_He watched her as she openly released a large yawn, showing her pearly whites to the world. Was it that late? He turned his head and looked towards his alarm clock. He frowned, realizing it was only 5:00..._

"_Something wrong?" He asked. She shook her head 'no' in response, before bringing her hand to her face and lazily rubbed her eye._

"_I am just having trouble sleeping lately." She confessed._

"Well it's been getting a lot worse, to the point where every night I just stare at the ceiling from dust till dawn…" Hearing her words, a frown showed on his handsome face.

"That's serious…" He told her, while slowly standing up, obviously concerned.

"I know…" She sighed. "But I think if I spend my nights with you, I'll be able to fall sleep like I did last night!" She smiled at him.

"Don't you think it's a little improper to be sleeping in the same room?" He questioned.

"No…" She shook her head. "I know you won't do anything."

"That's not what I mean-- I --" He sighed, while reaching his hand up and rubbing his face in frustration. "I can't let you stay here at night." He rejected her.

"…" She didn't say anything, and slowly focused her blue orbs onto the floor in sadness. "Last night was the first, in such a long time, that I was able to sleep like that…" She spoke with such sorrow in her voice, that it made his heart clinch at the sound. "It was so peaceful… And I didn't even have a nightmare…" She whispered. Nightmare? She's been having nightmares? Seeing her distress he sighed. He reached up and patted her head in encouragement.

"It's okay…" He whispered. "You can stay if you want, after all, you saved my mother from that bus accident, it's the least I can do." Hearing his words her eyes lit up. He gave a small grunt as she suddenly launched forward and collided into his chest.

"Thank you…" She muffled into his clothes, while embracing him tightly to show her appreciation.

"…" A long and deep sigh escaped his lips. He looked up at the ceiling in question, wondering why fate was so cruel to curse him like this-- "But you have to stay at the foot of my bed, alright?" She replied, by giving him another squeeze.

A playful smile showed on his face and he reached up, encircling his arms around her form, returning the hug. He inhaled her lovely vanilla scent, and his body completely succumbed to the warm emotion that flooded his body and mind.

This feeling-- He believed that he had lost it forever, so very long ago…

_Though I complain, I am actually very happy to have you with me again, Kagome…_


	8. Stress

Kurama rolled over, giving a small grunt as he slowly opened his eyes. After a few moments, he released a sigh and carefully placed his feet onto the floor, so as not to wake the still sleeping female resting at the end of his bed. He would usually walk to the window and open the curtain, letting the light into the room, but he decided against it. Instead he figured he would allow the woman to sleep just a little bit longer…

As he passed her on the way to the bathroom, he paused, looking over her peaceful form. Reaching over he gently moved away some hair that was obstructing her face from his view. She gave a small sigh, and he couldn't help but smile.

He stood there, delaying his morning routine for as long as he could, just to watch her. He knew that when he was done with his shower, she would have already woken up and left-- So now was the only time he had to look upon her form. She seemed so peaceful and surreal, he just couldn't find it in himself to look away…

Feeling a warm sensation go through his body, he raised his hand and placed it over his heart. The soft thumps against his chest soothed him in a strange way, as his body started to feel light and his mind was filled with her smiling image. Slowly he lowered his hand, and sighed.

Turning away from her he walked to the bathroom and closed the door with a soft click.

Kagome, she was going to be the end of him…_ again._ He just knew it.

* * *

Kurama walked out of the shower, just wearing boxers, a towel draped over his shoulders. Looking at the end of his bed, he wasn't surprised to see it was empty. She was already gone. He unconsciously let out a disappointed sigh, and he reached up, running his fingers through his damp hair.

Walking to the over to the window he looked upon the morning scene with dazed eyes. Why did she have to leave like that every morning? He asked himself.

"I could have brought her up some breakfast." He mumbled to himself, while starting to dry his hair with the towel. He paused when he realized what he just said, and sighed yet again. "Mother is probably already awake, and it would be bad if she found her in my room like that." He slowly lowered his hands, but the towel was still draped loosely over his head. "I guess she doesn't want to get me in trouble." He figured out. Yet he was left to ponder why he didn't realize that was the reason sooner.

He was Yoko Kurama. A sly and cunning demon with much knowledge about many things in both the demon and human realm. He solved puzzles and stole treasure that would otherwise be impossible to figure out, putting his life on the line… yet.

His mind got distracted by her and he couldn't think long enough to predict her movements. His head has been filled with fuzz and unclear thoughts ever since she came back into his life, and especially now, since she has been _using_ him to help her sleep at night…

"That's right." He had almost forgotten that one important fact.

She was here at night not because she enjoyed him and his company, but because for some reason he helped her fall sleep. His eyes drooped, while a dim sheen of fog covered them. She said that we are friends, but she is using him, and he is keeping a very important secret from her--

A deep and exhausting sigh escaped his lips. What has he gotten himself into?

* * *

Kurama walked through his house with slightly heavy strides. Kagome was running all through is mind today, and he barely got anything done at school. So to make up for it he stayed well beyond school hours doing homework and club activates. It was almost nine 'o clock, but he didn't have to worry about his mother, he made sure to call her and tell her he would be late.

As he passed the kitchen he noticed a plate of food that was left out for him, and he smiled. He walked over to it and took a roll, placing it into his mouth, before leisurely nibbling on it. He wasn't all that hungry, but he knew if he didn't eat some of it she would worry, so after taking a few bites of the meal he placed it into the fridge for later.

Taking his time he walked up the stairs and down the hallway. He sighed as he started to unbutton his school uniform, revealing the shirt underneath. Kagome is no doubt waiting for him in his room. She will probably get angry and ask him why he is late. He tried to resist another sigh as he reached out and opened the door to his room, prepared for anything--

His eyes widened and he dropped his bag in surprised. He was speechless as he looked at his bed in disbelief. Kagome was _asleep_. He thought of many scenarios for what was to come once he got home, but this was defiantly not one of them. She was lying peacefully across his comforter. Her head was resting on his pillow, while her raven locks were spilled out, and around his bed like water. All and all, it looked rather revealing with the small amount of clothes she wears at night--

Reaching up he covered his face with his hand, trying to stop the blood that was rushing to his cheeks. What was she thinking? He took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. The old Yoko was resurfacing, wanting to take advantage of the situation, yet he knew better then that. He was not that way anymore, but still he was having a hard time keeping control of himself--

He released a small growl, before physically shaking off his thoughts. Bending down, he picked up his fallen pack. Entering his room, he closed the door and locked it just to be safe. He placed the bag onto his desk, before removing his maroon jacket, draping it over his chair. Slowly he approached the sleeping girl, bent on confronting her.

"Kagome." He called her name as he stood at the edge of the bed. When she didn't answer he called again. "Kagome." After a few moments he sighed, and bent down, shaking her softly. "Kagome." He tried again.

"…" She responded this time, and gave a small moan. The sound made his body twitch, and his cheeks heat up. Several seconds passed, before she slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him. "Kurama." She called his name with a soft smile on her face. He blinked, slightly taken back by the expression, and removed his hand. "Welcome back." She greeted him, while sitting up and rubbing her eye tiredly.

"Yes, well, thank you." Out of habit he thanked her for the kind greeting. "Why are you sleeping in my bed?" He asked.

"You weren't here." She stated. Releasing a large yawn, she showed her pearly whites to the world, before clicking her tongue.

"I know that." He sighed. "Why didn't you wait for me?"

"I did." She told him.

"But you were sleeping." He corrected. "What would've happened if my mother walked in and saw you?" He tried to get her to understand the seriousness of this. To tell the truth he was slightly angry…

"But she didn't."

"She could have."

"But she didn't." She repeated. She sighed, looking away from his piercing gaze and at his pillow. "I didn't mean to." She told him. "I was just sitting on your bed, waiting for you, but then--" Her eyes closed halfway and she picked up his pillow, hugging it to her chest. "Your pillow smells just like you." She confessed. "Next thing I knew I was out like a light." She laughed a little, trying to pass it as no big deal.

"…" He sighed, while placing his hand onto his face. "I just can't find myself to be mad at you…" He whispered out loud. Hearing her soft laughter again he looked up and was surprised to see her smiling at him.

"You're so funny, Kurama." She placed the pillow back onto the bed, before leaning forward, and cupping her hand onto his cheek. "It's rather cute…" She whispered to him, placing her face mere inches from his. Her words caused a small taint of pink to spread across his nose. "Though you are cute, you are still too young for me by several hundred years." Her eyes started to sparkle with laughter, as a smirk spread onto her features. Backing away from him she sat back down onto his bed.

"Kagome, you should really take me more seriously-- You should take this whole ordeal seriously. This isn't some joke." He told her.

"I know that." She told him. Her happy expression was gone as he looked at him more calmly. "I am just so thrilled to find a way to sleep. I can't help but mess with you a little, after all, it's because of your kindness that I am able to get a good nights rest."

"Kagome-- I umm-- Don't know what to say." He was surprised by her words of gratitude.

"You don't have to say anything." She explained. "Just go to sleep." She patted the spot beside her on the bed. "You look tired."

"Yes, I am quite expended."

Especially with her playful attitude pulling at his strings tonight. She knows she should take this more seriously, but she doesn't. He is a man, and she is a woman, yet she isn't bothered by it, and instead she is joking around with him like this-- Doesn't she realizing what she is doing to him? He sighed, while reaching up and rubbing the bridge of his nose. He _should _tell her to leave, it would save him so much trouble, yet he doesn't have the heart to tell her no--

"But remember, you have to sleep on--"

" '_The foot of the bed.' _" She finished for him, mockingly quoting him. "I know. I know." She sighed, while crawling over to the end of the bed.

His eyes carefully scanned her smooth thighs-- He shook his head and looked away. Kagome-- He isn't sure how much longer he can resist, but if she continues to play around like this…

He sighed, and his eyes fogged over in thought. He shouldn't worry, things will be fine. He can control himself-- As long as she sticks by the rules…

* * *

Kurama gave a small sigh as Kagome's vanilla scent invaded his senses yet again. The pillow she slept on last night carried her aroma, and relaxed him. Even as he was starting to wake, he found the smell to still be quite strong, which surprised him, because it should be close to 6 o'clock…

Taking one last deep breath, he smiled and hummed. A small shifting in front of him, followed by a hum in reply, caught his attention. He slowly opened his eyes and--

"AH!" He gave a shout of surprise and reflex kicked in. He immediately pushed himself away from her-- "Oomph!!" He landed, back first, onto the floor with a hard thump. His feet and legs became entangled in his covers, and the heavy comforter slid off of the bed, draping overtop of his sprawled form.

"Kurama…?" He heard Kagome's soft voice tiredly call his name. He watched as she slowly peeked her head out from the edge of the bed. "What are you doing on the floor?" She asked, smiling down at him.

"Kagome--!" He hissed her name. He gave a grunt as he threw the covers off of him and he stood up abruptly. "Why were you laying with me!?" He asked, while staring down at her. Waking up, with her face just a breath away from his, was not something he wanted to encounter early in the morning…

"Hmm." She hummed while looking at the pillow. "I couldn't resist, Kurama. I find you so attractive that I ended up crawling next to you in the middle of the night." She smirked playfully. His eyes widened slightly, and his body twitched-- He clinched his jaw tight, trying to fight it off. Reaching up his placed his hand over half of his face and growled.

"Get out." He ordered her.

"Wha--" Her smirk immediately fell, as she looked at him surprised. "What?" She questioned.

"Get out!" He repeated and pointed towards the window. "Leave!"

"You know I as only joking Kura--" She tried to reason with him.

"That doesn't matter." He told her while shaking his head. "If you can't follow the simple rule of staying away from me, then you can't spend your nights here, Kagome." He placed his hand back onto his face. "Do you have any idea what kind of stress I go through when you're here?" He asked. He sighed, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. Doesn't she understand what she does to him? Let alone having her crawl up to him in bed like that--

"…" She didn't say anything.

He slowly opened his eyes, just in time to see her get out of his bed, and walk to the window. She opened it with a soft click, and without so much as a goodbye, she left without argument, just like he asked.

After a few silent moments to himself, he lowered his hand and looked at the floor. A small twinge of guilt hit him and he sighed…

* * *

Kurama stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. It has been over a week and Kagome hasn't even spoken to him-- He sighed, closing his eyes. She didn't even come to see him for her report evaluation…

Instead he walked into his room, hoping to see her, yet instead found a note, with word for word details of how her days went--

'_Well, I got out of bed… Then Grandpa and I started to have a discussion about Chimeras…'_ Her usual reports…

Reaching up he covered his face with his hand in regret. He didn't mean to get upset with her, and tell her to leave-- He just got so angry with the fact that she wasn't serious about… him.

She was just _using_ him to sleep, but even still, she teased him, and didn't even bother to think of how he felt about it. So while trying to control himself, without thinking he told her to leave-- He never thought that she would leave for good. Was she angry with him? What he said must have hurt her…

As he felt the guilt slowly weight him down, both body and mind, he could feel himself sinking further and further away-- A soft rustle by the window shocked him back into reality and he quickly shot out of bed.

"Kagome?!" He called out in hope. "Oh…" He looked away and sighed. "It's just you, Hiei."

"…" The fire apparition just looked at him with his usual heated stare.

"If there is something you want--"

"Talk to her, Fox." He interrupted him.

"What?" He blinked, looking back towards him.

"…" He didn't answer him. Kurama sighed-- "You know, those nightmares she has been having is about the day that she _killed_ you…" He stated.

"What!" He was shocked by his words, staring at him in disbelief. "When-- How did you--?"

"Hmm." He pointed towards his headband, where his Jagan eye rested. "I was able to finally pry into her mind, but only while she sleeps." He answered.

"I see…" He looked away from him, and at the floor. "So, I'm the reason she is unable to sleep in the first place…" He winced as he felt a large thump of pain hit his chest.

It was his fault she couldn't sleep. Only to be haunted by nightmares, plagued by her guilt for killing him. Yet strangely enough she finds comfort in his presence to fall asleep, nightmare free. No wonder she was so happy to rest. Falling asleep, only to dream of the day you was forced to kill a friend, over and over in your mind-- It must have been torturer for her. And yet he was so thoughtless-- He pushed her away and told her to leave. He was such a fool…

The guilt he felt before doubled in weight and was constricting, enclosing around his chest, hindering his ability to breath. He sighed. She was in such pain, yet he didn't even realize it was because of him. He was keeping the secret of his true identity away from her, and because of it she was suffering.

He looked down and sighed. Even if he talked to her, he wasn't sure if he would be able to gather the courage to tell her that he was really Yoko--

"If you don't tell her, then I will." Hiei's deadly tone interrupted his thoughts, as if reading his mind--

Without saying anything else, he disappeared in a flash of speed, leaving his threat to linger in Kurama's mind…

* * *

Kurama walked down the street, a dazed look in his eyes. He was on his way to Kagome's house. He didn't know what he was going to do or say once he got there, but he knew he had to see her. He sighed in uneasiness and he started to clinch and unclench his hands in nervousness, feeling his fingers start to tingle, going numb.

As he was walking, something out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention, making him glance over. He paused in his walk and turned towards the glass window…

"_Beautiful…" She whispered to herself, while placing her hand onto the glass._

"Hmm." He gave a hum in thought.

"_You like Crystal Figurines?" He asked, a surprisingly gentle tone in his voice._

"_Yes…" Her expression soften, and she gave a small smile. _

He found himself smiling as he thought back. She looked so blissful and innocent staring at them--

"_Are you going to buy one now then?"_

"_I'm broke…" She gave a disappointed sigh before she finally looked away from the glass. _

"Maybe…" He looked at the figurines for a few moments longer. His eyes softened before he smiled, and walked into the shop…

* * *

Kurama strolled down the street, feeling slightly more confident. He was holding a small decorated gift bag within his right hand, and every now and then he would steal a glance at it, before a smile adorned his face.

When he realized that he finally arrived at his destination, he took a deep breath, and then slowly started to ascend the stairs. Hope she is home-- He paused in his thoughts and almost laughed. What was he thinking? She is always home…

"…Kagome." A male voice whispered in the back of his mind, making him stand up in attention. As he approached the end of the steps, the voice got louder. "Glad to see you're looking good."

"Yeah, I have been taking care, you know." The familiar tone of Kagome fell into his ears. "I heard that you are trying to become a doctor."

"Yes." The male laughed. "Its tough, but I've been fairing."

"We haven't talked in so long, I'm happy to see you."

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

It was at that time Kurama reached the top, and when he did, he paused as the scene entered his vision. Kagome was holding a book in her hand, on top of it was a small box with a ribbon, and she had a smile on her face. She was talking to a man, who had light brown hair and boyish looks, who was also laughing and enjoying himself in the small conversation they where having.

"…" Unknowingly his grip on the bag tightened until his knuckles turned white. The thin strings groaned in persist at the rough treatment.

"Well, I'm actually quite busy today, so I have to go now." He told her while glancing at the watch on his wrist. "Maybe I can visits again soon, when I have some free time, and we can catch up on old times?" He offered.

"I would like that." She agreed, nodding.

"Alright then, I'll see you later." He smiled.

"It was nice seeing you again, Hojo."

"Yes, and please, enjoy the gifts." He bowed to her, before waving as he walked towards the stairs, headed his way.

"…" Kurama just watched as the man passed him with a grin on his face.

"Kurama?" Kagome called to him, snapping him out of his focus from the other male's retreating back.

"Kagome." He greeted her with a small smile, before waking towards her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Well… I-- Umm." He started to feel nervous and looked away, suddenly finding it difficult to look into her deep blue orbs.

"…" He heard her sigh, before she turned around. "I'm sure whatever it is, it would be more comfortable if we talked inside." She offered, while glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Yes." He agreed without really thinking through the consequences.

"Alright, then follow me." She then started walking towards the house, and he did as she instructed, following quietly.

In the small walk it took to get to the house, his mind started reeling. His eyes glued to the book, and the ribbon tied box placed on top of it. They must be the gifts that man-- He believed his name was Hojo, if he recalled correctly-- He gave them to her. He didn't know what was inside the box, or what the book was, but she seemed pretty close and cheery with the guy. The hold on his own gift tightened unconsciously.

Was he an old acquaintance? A friend? A _close_ friend-- Or… _more_? Just the idea sent his blood racing. He sighed, trying to calm down. He is probably just overreacting. He must be an old school mate. There is no way it could be more then that… Right? He glanced at the gifts once again, and doubt started setting in. If that was true, then why did he give her gifts? The box was especially suspicious.

He was shocked out of his thoughts when Kagome opened the door to the house, before moving aside and allowing him entrance. He bowed towards her in thanks, and then took his shoes off in respect. She did the same, and they both walked down the hallway.

Just as they passed a large entryway she paused, before turning her head and looking inside the room. She smiled, before walking though the doorway, going inside. He hesitated in whether he should follow her or not-- He sighed, wondering what he was so worried about. Nothing bad is going to happen.

When he entered his skin turned pale and he quickly had second thoughts…

"Ah, Kagome dear." The older woman on the lounge chair looked up from her stitching and smiled at her.

"Mom." She greeted, before walking over to the couch, were an older gentlemen and a young boy was sitting. The boy was playing video games, and the man was reading old scrolls. He identified them as her brother, Sota, and grandfather.

He just walked right into a trap--! Quickly! He must find a way out before they see him! He cautiously took a step back--

"Who's this young gentleman you brought in with you?" Her mother asked, smiling at him.

Oh no, he's been spotted! He glanced over and saw that everyone was now looking at him and he gulped. He gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"That's Suichi Minamino, he is a good friend of mine." She introduced him. Wait-- 'good friend'? He looked towards her and his emerald orbs locked onto her deep blue, and she smiled at him. Does that mean she's not mad at him?

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Higurashi."

"Oh my, such a lovely man." She cooed, placing her hand over her cheek in delight. "So polite, and handsome too." She complimented him.

"Thank you." He could feel a small tint of pink go across his cheeks.

"Be gone demon!!" He heard her grandfather shout, while charging at him, and pulling out a paper ward from his robe. Kurama's emerald eyes widened with surprise. He knew--!? "Ha-!!" The man jumped up and placed the paper on to his forehead, then gave a grunt in victory. "Take that, you vile demon!"

"Uh?" He just blinked a few times, staring at the paper that was stuck to his forehead. Reaching up he gently tugged the object off and stared at it intensely. It was not a real ward, it doesn't have any spiritual powers in it at all-- and the writing is nothing but gibberish squiggles…

"Grandpa, please don't do that to all my friends I bring in here." Kagome pleaded with him.

"But you can't be too careful now-a-days Kagome!" He told her. She just sighed and shook her head.

"Here." She placed the book into his arms and he looked down at it. "It's from Hojo." She told him. "He said that you would know what it was…"

"Ah!" His eyes sparkled with new life and he smiled. "So he finally brought it!" As he was going back to his seat, Kagome was quick to grab the box that was lying on top of it. After that, the older man lost contact with the rest of the world yet again, and was focused on reading the book.

"Here mom." Kagome walked over her chair, not wanting her to get up, and gave her the box. "He brought the medicine you ordered as well."

"Well, isn't that sweet of him, saving me the trouble of going there myself." The woman smiled and graciously took the box. "But why didn't he come inside and give it to us himself?" She asked.

"He said he was in a hurry, so I offered to take it." Kagome shrugged. So, those 'gifts' wasn't really for Kagome? He let a small sigh of relief escape his lips. "I will be in my room with Suichi, if you need me." She told them.

"Alright dear." Her mother just nodded and went back to her sowing. Her bother un-paused his video game and continued playing, and her grandfather's gaze never left the book. They are not going to question why she is taking him into her room? She is a grown woman and he is... well, a man. "Dinner will be ready at six." She informed her.

"Okay." Kagome nodded in understanding.

"Will your friend be joining us as well? I would like to get to know him better." She asked. Kagome just looked at him questionably waiting for his reply.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Miss Higurashi. It would be rude of me not to accept." He answered with a smile.

"Such a polite young man. You don't see many of those now a days, especially one with such good looks." Her mother mumbled to herself while smiling. As he felt more of his blood rushing into his cheeks, he heard Kagome's soft laughter.

"Come on." She smiled and grabbed his wrist. She then dragged him out of the living room, and through the house.

When they entered her room, she let go of his wrist and closed the door with a soft click.

"Why didn't your family question you about me being in your room?" He asked, curious.

She gave a sigh and walked over to her bed, sitting down.

"They trust me." She told him.

"I see." He looked away from her and chose to stare out of her bedroom window instead, suddenly finding it interesting.

"Was there something you wanted, Kurama?" She asked. "I know you didn't come here just to stare out of my window."

"You're right." He chuckled at her small joke, trying to relax. Taking a deep breath he looked back towards her sitting form. "I wanted to talk to you about that night."

"What is there to talk about?" She questioned.

"What I said must have hurt you, and you're angry with me. I came to make amends and apologiz-- umm…" He swallowed, as his throat suddenly became dry. Yet when Kagome's soft laughter fell into his ears, he has to blink in surprise.

"What made you think I was angry with you?" She questioned, an amused smirk on her face as she leaned back and crossed her legs.

"Well, you haven't been back to see me ever since. You even sent me a note in place for your report." He told her.

"I haven't seen you because I thought it was best." She told him. "After all, you said that I have been putting much stress on you, by just being around." She sighed and looked away from him. "I didn't want to burden you so I left…" She confessed. "I'm not angry, I was just doing that to make you comfortable and go back to your normal routine…" She sighed. "Without me." She added. He watched as she looked at the ground a dazed look in her eyes.

"That is not what I meant." He tried to tell her.

"Oh?" She looked towards him and raised a delicate eyebrow in question. "But that night, you were right. I fell asleep and your mother could have easily walked in and seen me." She placed her hand over her chest. "Because of my thoughtlessness you have been stressing over your mother and school work."

"No." He shook his head and sighed. "By stress, I didn't mean that Kagome." He repeated. Reaching up he placed his hand over his face in thought, as his eyebrows angled together in concentrations. "Kagome." He called to her. "You have been taking _us_ lightly." He voiced his thoughts. "You've been taking _me_ lightly. Even at night when you come to me in your sleepwear, you joke around and are never serious with me or the whole situation and that upset me." He confessed, staring into her deep blue pools. "Though I've just been in this world for sixteen years, I am still a man-- Not just that, I am a demon, and you are a woman and--" Kagome's soft laughter filled the room, stopping his small speech.

"Kurama." She purred his name, smiling at him. "_That_ is what's been bothering you?" She asked.

"Umm…" He was taken back by her question. "Yes." He answered. She shook her head, and laughed again. Standing up she walked over to him and placed her hand onto his cheek.

"And here I thought you was the one mad at me--" She mumbled to herself, still smiling. "I'm happy that's all it was." She gave a small sigh of relief, and her eyes softened greatly towards him.

" '_That's all?_' Kagome, that's very serious--" He gave a small grunt when she swiftly collided into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Kagome…?" His voice held confusion and curiosity.

"I'm glad you're not mad at me…" She whispered, her breath flowing across his exposed neck. "I don't know what I would do, if I was a burden to you in anyway, and upset you…" She confessed. "Kurama." She called his name softly, surprising him at the gentleness in her tone. "The reason I wasn't being serious, and I was joking with you is because…" She gave herself some extra leverage, and stood on her tiptoes, whispering into his ear. "I trust you." His eyes widened slightly and his cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "Because I trust you, I am able to be myself and relax." She pulled herself away from him and smiled.

"_I know you won't do anything."_

She wasn't joking, or even being smart when she said that… That was her way of saying that she trusted him. He sighed and raised his hand, placing it over his face in regret. This whole time, and the reason she _could _sleep with him at night was because of trust. If that wasn't there, she wouldn't have even considered it--

This whole time he believed she was using him, but he couldn't be more wrong. In truth, all this time she was thinking about him and his wellbeing. She cared about him, and enjoyed being with him. In the short time we have known each other, she already thought of him as a dear friend, and she was even upset when she believed he was mad at her--

He was such a fool…

"I'm so sorry Kagome." He whispered in regret. "No amount of apologies could make up for my mistake."

"Only one is needed, Kurama." she told him. "If you truly meant it, you only need one." She smiled, patting his chest in encouragement. She turned back around and walked over to her bed, sitting down. After a few moments she laughed and motioned at the spot beside her on the bed. "I bet you're tired of standing, here, please sit."

"Thank you." He smiled, and walked over, sitting beside her. When he did the bag in his hand rattled, catching his attention. He almost forgot-- "How well have you been sleeping since you've left?" He asked.

"…" She sighed and looked at the floor shamefully. "Not too good really…" She answered halfheartedly. By the look on her face, she is no doubt having those nightmares…

"Here." He raised the bag in his hand and placed it onto her lap.

"What's this?" She asked, looking at him questionably.

"Open it." Was all he said.

She smiled, before reaching into the bag and pulling out a black box. Opening it carefully, she gasped once she saw what was inside.

"It's beautiful…" She gently pulled the crystal figurine out and placed it into her hand. It was a crystal rose, no bigger then her palm in size.

"You're still allowed to sleep at my house, that is, if you want to…" He offered.

"Kurama." She suddenly lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck in joy, making sure to be careful of the fragile gift in her hand.

He gave a deep and pleasurable sigh, as her vanilla scent invaded his senses. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace.

* * *

Kurama was sitting up in his bed, reading a book while waiting for Kagome. He didn't know what was taking her so long, but he knew better then to worry about her, she was plenty strong enough to take care of herself--

"Kurama!!" She yelled out just as she burst through the open window.

"Kagome." He greeted her calmly, and with a small smile.

"Aw." She gave a pout. "I was hoping that you would fall asleep without me." She told him.

"Trying to scare me again?" He asked while closing his book with a soft snap.

"Of course." She smirked, and walked up to him with a small bag in her hand.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Bread." She answered happily while plopping down onto his bed. "I thought it would be nice if we could share them." She opened it and pulled out two small pieces.

"You shouldn't eat that on my bed, you'll get crumbs."

"You're no fun." She told him while placing one of the pieces into her mouth and nibbling on it.

"Fine." He sighed and reached out, taking the other. She laughed while happily eating her bite. He placed it next to his lips, and tore off a chunk. "Hmm." He nodded in acceptance as the rather delicious flavor ran over his taste buds. "It's still pretty fresh." He mumbled while putting the last bite into his waiting mouth.

"Of course it is. I just bought it at the store silly."

"---!!!" He went into fits of coughs as the bread got stuck in his throat. He pounded his chest repeatedly, before sighing once the food went safely down his throat. Kagome just laughed at his predicament, also taking the last bite of her food. "Wearing that?" He asked. She was in her usual sleepwear, which wasn't much.

"Well, I wasn't naked." She told him, smirking.

"Kagome…" He sighed, placing his hand over his face in defeat. "Never mind." He mumbled as he looked at his bed, making sure there were no crumbs, before leaning over to his nightstand and shutting off the light. Kagome just continued to laugh at him as she crawled over to the end of the bed happily.

He stared at the ceiling for several moments before closing his eyes. It was hard to believe that just this morning he was worried about not being able to see or speak to her again, thinking that she was angry with him. Yet after getting a few things straightened out, he invited her over to spend the night, and here she was talking and joking with him as if nothing happened…

He smiled to himself and sighed--

"_If you don't tell her, then I will." _

Hiei's voice echoed in his mind and he snapped his eyes open. That's right, he almost forgot! He turned his head and looked down, spotting her sleeping form just below him, her back facing his direction.

Her nightmares were about the day that she killed him, and because of that she was unable to sleep, haunted by guilt. He felt his eyes harden at the thought that he caused her so much pain-- He sighed, and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. Yet now Hiei knows his secret. Kagome was the one who wounded him and sent him to the human realm, and if he doesn't tell her the truth now--

"_If you don't tell her, then I will." _

And he will most certainly keep his word, that's for sure…

He took a deep breath, gathering his courage. What should he say? He wondered. How would he say it? He sighed.

'Guess what Kagome? I'm actually Yoko Kurama! Yes, the thief who you believed to have killed 16 years ago! Ha-ha-ha, what a twist, uh? Yeah, I know, it's crazy isn't it? What a small world! So… What's up?'

He gave a chuckle at his dry humor, trying to liven up his mood. He could just imagine what she would do…

Probably jump clear across the room and start strangling him-- Yeah, then it would really be like old times. Raising his hand he covered his face, blocking himself from the rest of the world as his mind started blurring together with different thoughts. Could he actually do it? Could he tell her that he was actually Yoko Kurama, and that he has been deceiving her this whole time?

He lifted his hand enough to look at her resting form once again--

"_If you don't tell her, then I will." _

He sighed. He wasn't sure, but he knew that it would probably be better for him to tell her the truth, then Hiei--

"Kagome." He called to her.

"Hmm?" She replied, while turning over, just enough to glance over her shoulders to look at him.

"I umm--" He swallowed hard, feeling a large lump form in his throat. "Wanted to tell you that umm…" He could feel his heart thumping loudly in his ears. "I--" He took a deep breath. "Goodnight." He told her.

"Goodnight, Kurama." She smiled at him, before turning back around.

He slowly exhaled, and closed his eyes in regret. Reaching up he rubbed his face in frustration, wonder why he couldn't tell her--

She looked so happy, though he knew she was hurting deep down. She regretted and felt guilty for killing him, her friend, with her own hands. Yet even though he knew all of this, he couldn't tell her the truth. That he was alive, and well. He survived, and was living in the human realm the whole time. _He_ was the demon that stole the jewel, and caused her so much pain…

He knew that if he told her, that once happy and caring smile she has always shown to him, would disappear…

"_If you don't tell her, then I will." _

All through the night, Hiei's threat echoed in his mind, and he was unable to fall asleep…

**

* * *

**

_Next day…_

Using his speed he appeared in her room, just as the female was clothing herself for the night. She didn't pause in her dressing, but he did notice a small smile show on her face.

"Yes Hiei?" She asked without lifting her gaze from her shirt.

"…" He didn't say anything, yet continued to watch her closely.

"You caught me just in time." She told him. "I was about to leave for Kurama's…" She paused and looked over at him. He was slightly taken back by the happy glow that radiated off her body, yet he never made any outward expression. He just continued to stare at her with his crimson orbs-- A familiar squeak fell into his ears, and she cooed.

"Kaji!" She called to the mouse as it popped its head out of his shirt collar. She reached out and placed her hand in front of his shoulders, and the small animal happily jumped onboard, hearts around its head. "Has Hiei been treating you well?" She asked. It gave another squeak and she laughed, petting it on the head.

He watched her with slight interest, as her smile was full of energy and joy. She seemed to greatly enjoy herself as she carried on a light conversation with the mouse, before laughing and placing him back onto his shoulders.

"I'm glad you are taking good care of him, Hiei." She purred his name, smiling at him.

"…" He didn't say anything.

"I can't read your mind, Hiei, if there is something you want, you have to tell me." She confessed, eyes sparkling with hope and delight.

"_If you don't tell her, then I will." _

"…"

"Hmm?" She reached out and gently cupped his cheek in a friendly gesture. His eyes widened slightly, and he pulled away from her warm touch. She smiled, and looked at him with a soft expression. He looked away from her.

"It's nothing." He used his speed and disappeared from sight.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself tell her…


	9. Invitation For Trouble

Kagome was once again doing small menial tasks around the shrine. For the moment she was sweeping the stone path, finding it to be extra daunting and boring today. It was taking less and less effort to clean, now that she was starting to regain her strength back, thanks to Kurama.

Her energy was coming back to her, even though the Earth was still continuing to drain her powers. She was recovering more then it was taking, so she was slowly getting back to her old self. It might take awhile, but the good news is, as long as she stays with Kurama, she will have a good nights rest, without nightmares. To her that's all that really matters.

She hasn't felt like this in awhile, and she couldn't find in herself to stop smiling, even if she wanted too. Kurama was such a nice person, even if he tried to hide it from her. She hasn't known him long, but right away she knew he was kind and she thinks quite highly of the demon. At first she felt it was slightly strange, she was instantly drawn to him for some reason. His smell, and even how he acts and sometimes talks-- It reminds her so much of _him_…

"Yoko." She whispered the thief's name, and she paused in her sweeping, looking at the ground sadly.

"_Science intrigues me…" _Kurama's voice echoed in her mind.

"That's exactly what _he _said…" She mumbled to herself, remember the past.

"_You like science?" She asked._

"_It has intrigued me."_

They are so similar, yet different. She thought it was a coincidence at first but-- Could there be something more? Maybe-- Maybe she is just _trying _to find ways to see Yoko in him? She sighed and her grip on the broom handle unconsciously tightened.

She feels regret for killing him, and is now purposely looking for similarities between him and Yoko--

"I should know better then to compare, and try to replace one person for another-- I, more then anyone, know how horrible it is to be a substitute." What was she thinking? Kurama is not Yoko. Kurama is Kurama, and she should've never thought otherwise. She was being selfish to think differently…

With that in mind, she gave a soft sigh and her shoulders slumped. She then continued her small chore of sweeping the pathway-- Something pricked at the edge of her senses and she snapped her head up in alert, looking around. How could she not sense it before?! Her orbs darted around the area, looking for the intruder. Its aura was practically on top of her-- Where is he?!

Her eyes widened in realization and she whipped her head up, looking skyward. Her eyes hardened once she saw a small dot circling her from high above. She gripped her broom tighter, and channeled some of her energy into the tool. A soft growl rumbled in her throat as she watched the demon dive towards her at high speed. Its raven wings were enclosed around its body for an extra barrier and boot its momentum for its descent.

Because of that she couldn't see it, but whatever demon it was, she knew that it was very skilled-- As the black burry projectile soared at her at intangible speed, just a few feet before hitting the ground, its wings suddenly burst open in a elegant twirl, putting on the breaks. The motion caused all of the air to fly past her in a large gust of wind, and spreading several of its raven feathers throughout the area.

Her blue orbs focused on the demon and-- Her eyes widened before a sly smirk showed on her face.

"Show off." She mumbled, huffing. The crow gave a deep chuckle, as the slow rhythmic beats of his wings kept him hovering above the ground. His feet softly landed on the ground, before his wings twitched, and gave a small ruffle.

"Nice to see you too, Lady Kagome--Oomph!" He gave a small grunt as she collided with his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck in a joyful greeting.

"Kage!" She called his name, smiling. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"I-- I'm honored." He replied. She could feel the heat coming off of his reddened cheeks and she laughed. She released him, not wanting to cause him anymore embarrassment, and took a step back.

"How is everyone?" She asked.

"They are well." He answered. His alluring raven wings gave a small twitch, and her eyes couldn't help but focus on them, wanting to touch them--

"That's good to hear." She looked back at his face and she gave a small sigh. "Though I am happy to see you, Kage, I must ask why you are here."

"I have come with a message on behalf of Lord Sesshomaru." He told her, his violet orbs became serious and he stood straight, his hand unconsciously draped over his sword's hilt.

"I'm not surprised." She told him, half shrugging. "But I am more interested in why _you_ were sent, and not Jaken." His power level is a very high rank, the barrier between the human realm and demon realm would block his entry. To pass, the higher demons must ware an object on their body that drains their power level, low enough to slip past the defense. "If you just sent Jaken I'm sure it would be less troublesome." After all, his power is almost zero on the scale as far as demons go.

"Jaken is incapable of leaving his duties, as caretaker of the servants." He told her. "And Lord Sesshomaru said: _'That fool is unfit to do simple tasks, let alone safely arrive in the Human realm, without getting himself lost.' _"

"I see." She gave a small laugh, placing her hand over her mouth. She could just imagine him saying that. "What is it that you have to relay to me?" She asked. "Do I have to return to the Demon World?" She had a feeling that might be the case, but she hoped it wasn't, she wanted to stay here a little longer, with her family.

"No." He answered. She allowed a small sigh of relief to wash over her. "Lord Sesshomaru requests that you take part in the Dark Tournament."

"Dark Tournament?" She repeated, blinking in surprise. "Me? In _that_ useless brawl?" She snorted at the mere idea of her going to such an appalling thing. "Why?" She questioned. He has never shown any interest in it before…

"Lord mentioned that there have been strange occurrences in the Human World lately, and he has a hunch that it might be connected with the arrival of the Dark Tournament." He told her.

"Oh?" She seemed interested at that point, and hummed in curiosity. She hasn't been sensing anything, but then again her powers have been drained to the point where she couldn't even sense Kage, until he was over top of her. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to check it out." Not that she doesn't enjoy being with her family, but she has been getting rather bored staying at the house and doing chores. "I'll go sign up tomorrow." She told him.

"That won't be necessary." He quickly stated. "Lord Sesshomaru has already taken it upon himself to sign for you." His wings gave a small twitch. "So whether you _wished_ to attend or not, doesn't really matter…"

"He didn't even care for my opinion, did he?" She was mostly talking to herself, and she sighed in defeat. Kage just shook his head, giving a small chuckle. Doesn't really surprise her…

"I also wanted to inform you that the Sprit Detectives will be joining the Tournament as well." He told her.

"Really?" She was slightly surprised by this. "Even Kurama?"

"Yes, even him." He nodded. "The humans, Yusuke and Kuwabara, were summoned as specials guests, giving them the right to be there."

"I see." She placed her hand onto her chin in thought. That is strange, why would they do that? Guess that leaves her no choice but to join the brawl now.

"My Lady…" Kage whispered, catching her attention. She looked back towards him, showing she was listening. "Do you think this is wise?" He asked. "Your sources told us that you have slowly been getting weaker with each passing day." He looked at her with concern.

"I'm fine, Kage." She tried to reassure him. "Weakened or not, do you really think the demons at this tournament will be able to even compare to me?" She smirked.

"Like always, you are right, Lady Kagome." His wings twitched. "It was foolish of me to think otherwise." He bowed low to her in respect.

"Being worried over an old friend like me, is not considered foolish in my eyes." She smiled at him, as another blush flushed across his nose, and over his elegant elf ears.

"Lady Kagome…" He looked down at her, and his expression softened.

"Kage." She reached up and gently touched his cheek in a friendly gesture. "Not only that, but you are a wonderful commander, and respectable companion."

"I am honored."

"No, _I_ am the one who is honored. Having the opportunity know you, and fought by your side for 300 years, has been some of the best memories I've had, and I know that choosing you, as the one who will take my place during my absence, has not been a misguided decision."

"Milady…" He was speechless, moved by her touching words. She gave his cheek a small pat of enragement, before removing her hand and smiling. "I'm sorry, but I must quickly depart, and relay my report." He told her, while stretching his wings out to their full length, getting ready to leave.

"Take good care of Sesshomaru while I'm gone, you know how he gets when it comes to work, that old dog never takes a break." Her expression softened towards the Crow Demon, and he smiled.

"Of course." He nodded, before his wings rose up, and in one gentle flap his feet left the ground.

He hovered there a few more moments, and placed his hand over his chest, giving her a soft bow in respect. She smiled, and waved goodbye to him, just as he turned and in one powerful swoosh, he was gone, leaving behind a small gust in his wake.

"Hmm." She hummed to herself in delight. "The Dark Tournament…"

Wonder what sort of trouble will show up there…?

* * *

"Hey Kurama." Kagome greeted as she softly landed inside of the dark room. She paused and looked around, realizing that he wasn't here. "He must have stayed behind at school again." She quickly calculated. "I swear, that place is like a second home to him-- Correction, that boy spends more time there then at his real home…" She gave a soft sigh and walked over to his bed.

She will just rest while she waits. His mother is already asleep, probably called and told her he was going to be late beforehand, and she had a feeling he will stay at his club till the school forces him out. If she remembers correctly, he said something about testing out a theory, a few nights ago. She laid on his bed, and placed her head onto his pillow.

It doesn't matter. She can fall asleep as long as his scent is here, and his pillow carried it rather strongly, so she doesn't have to worry about waiting for him-- She gave another sigh, but it was in delight as his wonderful aroma invaded her senses, making a field of wild roses appear in her mind.

Kagome looked at the alarm clock blinking in the corner of his room. It read: '6:07' She smiled and hugged the pillow closer to her body. He probably won't be home till nine, so she will just take a small nap while he's gone…

She hummed in joy and curled herself around the pillow.

* * *

Kagome shot out of bed, eyes dilated in shock. Her orbs started to tremble in horror and she raised her hand to her face in disbelief.

"No…" She whispered and tears formed at the end of her eyes. "But it's been so long…" She mumbled to herself, looking down at her other hand. She was also in Kurama's room, surrounded by his scent-- "Why did I have a nightmare?" She questioned, and looked towards the clock.

Her eyes widened as the numbers 7:01 Blinked repeatedly, as if mocking her. Her eyes drooped in sadness, as she quickly realized this was now a serious problem…

Just his scent, is no longer enough, to allow her a restful sleep…

* * *

Kurama was inside of the lab room. He was wearing a white coat, protection for his uniform underneath. Inside of the large and quiet room, he found a sense of peace. He was the only one there at the moment. The other club members were in the hallway bantering, or in another science room doing different kind of tests.

The room was filled with long black tables. Most of which were clean and empty of any objects, but the one he was on was packed with test tubes, and chemicals. He was testing his theory, if special compounds could create a reaction that could natural speed up the growth of plants-- Without harming them.

Not instant growth, but a small noticeable change that can happen within hours of contact, and continue to grow exponentially. Not only that, but it might even help it expand bigger then normal sized plants of the same kind.

He raised the small tube in front of him and started to twirl the purple liquid slowly. Human science is so interesting. He could easily make the plant grow with his demonic powers, but find a different, and much harder approach to it, is much more exciting and wonderful puzzle to figure out--

A small tap caught his attention, breaking his thoughts, and he looked towards the window-- His eyes widened and he almost dropped the tube in surprise.

"Kagome?" He could only stare at her, and she pointed down to the window, wanting help to get inside. "I can't let you in." He placed the tube down and walked to the glass shield. She gave a small pout, and blinked at him, before tilting her head in a cute manner. He sighed, and reached up, rubbing his face in frustration. "Sigh…"

He knows he is going to regret this later-- He reached over and unlocked the window, before sliding the large glass until she could slip though.

"Thanks, Kurama." She smiled, landing on the cold tile floor softly.

"What are you doing here, Kagome?" He asked, closing the window, and it gave a small click. "Not only are you not allowed here, but you are just wearing your sleepwear." He had to resist another sigh that threatened to escape. "You know how many rules you are breaking with that alone?" She opened her mouth to answer, but he beat her to it. "A lot."

"I know." She sighed tiredly. "I had to see you."

"You could have just waited in my room, I would have come home eventually." He raised his hand and shook his head.

"I tried." She seemed disheartened, and looked down sadly. "I went to sleep in your room waiting but then--" She flinched, as if pained just remembering it, before bringing her hand to her chest and sighing. "It didn't last very long…" She mumbled to herself. She had a nightmare? His eyebrow angled together in concentration and worry. "I don't think I can sleep, unless I'm near you now, just being surrounded by your scent doesn't help anymore."

"That's serious." He raised his hand and placed it onto his chin.

"That is why I came to see you." Looking back at him, her pleading blue orbs meet emerald green. "Can I stay here with you? I promise I won't cause trouble."

"I doubt that…" He mumbled to himself.

"Please." She took a step towards him and reached out to encase his large hand inside her smaller ones. "It will be like I'm not even here…"

"…" Looking at her, she seemed so frail at that moment-- He turned his head and sighed in defeat. He couldn't say no to her, when she looked like that-- "Alright." He agreed and nodded.

"Thank you!" She jumped out and wrapped her arms around his neck in joy. He had to resist a shudder as she gave a happy laugh, and her hot breath brushed against his neck.

"Just don't make any noise."

"Of course!" She pulled away from him, smiling.

"I'm working on something important, so don't distract me."

"Yes, captain!" She grinned, and saluted him in a playful manner.

"…"

He sighed, and reached up, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache surfacing…

* * *

Kurama picked up another test tube, and examined it closely. Nodding in acceptance, he placed it back in its holder before picking up an empty boiling tube. He paused and looked over his shoulder, at the sleeping female behind him.

She was lying on top of a clean table, resting. Her hands were curled to her chest, and her hair was sprawled all across the table like water. She was only wearing her usual buttoned up shirt, with her undergarments, leaving her legs and feet bare. Every now and then he would look back to check up on her, but each time it became more and more difficult to go back to his work.

She said that she wouldn't do anything to distract him, but just being here, and looking like _that_, was-- The sound of a crisp snap fell into his ears, and he looked down. Without realizing it he broke the tube--

"Damn…" He sighed and placed the cracked container somewhere else on the table, out of the way. Reaching up he rubbed his face tiredly.

Today was supposed to be a day he gets to relax. Lately, he has been training for the upcoming Dark Tournament. He has been taking days off of school, and even after school hours to further improve his skills. He hasn't told Kagome this though, and he would make sure to come home before six, so she wouldn't suspect anything. He has been working hard, so today he wanted to take a break and let his overworked muscles rest.

He knew it was wrong not to tell her, but he didn't want her to worry. The day he was supposed to leave, he already planned to leave a note in his room, saying he left for a school trip. It wasn't like she could help them with the tournament, she would just distract him, so leaving her behind might be best, but now he wasn't sure. She said that she couldn't sleep without being near him, and that put a damper on his plans.

Would she be able to last on her own during the long trials of the tournament? He wasn't sure how long the tournament will last, but he was certain will take up many days. It might even take a mouth, and if it does, a simple excuse like a school trip will not be enough--

"Hey Suichi." A male voice called to him, and he heard the doors to the room slide open. Oh no-- He looked at Kagome, then back towards the three males who entered the room. "We all decided that we want you to be the Biology Club's president." He said while waving a piece of paper in his hand. The other two around him nodded.

"Yeah, you're popular, and will surely attract more members."

"And girls." The third boy added, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Umm…" He slowly shifted his body around to try and block their vision of Kagome. "You guys have asked me this several times before, and I have already declined your offer…"

"We won't take no for an answer." The boy huffed and they started walking towards him, away from the door.

"Yeah, we won't let you leave until you say yes!" They suddenly surrounded him, and he just sighed tiredly. They then started to poke and prod him with statistics and graphs, showing that the club will rise in popularity by 78 percent.

"Hey." One of the boys chirped out, catching his attention. "Isn't that a girl?" The boy mumbled to himself, making the others stop their ramblings and lean over to look behind him.

"Umm… No?" He answered sheepishly and scratched the back of his head while laughing nervously. The boys quickly forgot about him, and walked over to Kagome's table, surrounding it.

"Wow Suichi! We had no idea you knew someone like her."

"Yeah, she's hot." The males then started to practically drool while watching her sleep.

"…" Kurama just shook his head and went back to his work. Soon, the commotion of the three club members started to attract attention and more guys came into the room.

"Whoa…" The boy's cheeks flushed red. "Who is she?" He questioned. The other boys shrugged. The, now, seven males started to whisper to each other. It was at that point the noises started to wake the unfortunate girl sleep on the table…

"Na~…" She gave a cute groan and her eyes slowly fluttered open. The boys around the table leaned closer to get a better look. "Wha--What?" She sat up and looked at them, completely confused. "What's going on?" She reached up and rubbed her eye tiredly, giving a small yawn.

"**Cute!"** The boys whispered in awe at the same time.

"Umm…" She blinked in surprise and a blush went across her nose. Kurama tried not to laugh at her embarrassment, while he continued his testing, listening in. Kagome can take care of herself, so he wasn't really worried about her.

"What's your name?"

"Why are you here?"

"Why were you sleeping on the table?"

"Please. One question at a time." She told them, while slowly scooting to the edge of the table and placing her feet on the ground. "Are you Suichi's classmates?" By now three more boys appeared, and started to get into the commotion.

"Yeah." The boy nodded, answering. "What's your name?" A boy asked again.

"Kagome."

"Kagome. Cute~!" The boy sighed. A few more men came through the door, followed by others until there was a large crowd surrounding her, to the point where he was unable to clearly see her.

"How old are you?!" Another one asked.

"I'm eighteen." She answered. The boys gave small gasps, but then suddenly the group around her tightened, and the blushes on their cheeks intensified.

"I like older women!" One of them shouted, causing the other boys to nod in agreement.

"I'm not _that_ much older then you." She mumbled. If you count eighteen as being her real age…

"I think you are hot, Kagome." Another made a failed attempt to compliment her.

"Kagome!" One called from the back. "Are you Suichi's girlfriend?!" He asked. The others stared at her intensely, also wanting to know.

"No…" Her face flushed a pretty pink. Kurama also had a slightly reddened face after hearing the question. The boys quickly gave a sigh of relief, before the noise and commotion around her increased as every boy tried to get her attention.

"What's your favorite color?!"

"What's your sign!?"

The boys started to shove and push, trying to get to her.

"I umm…" Her voice held slight nervousness and she took a step back, but the boys were all around her so she couldn't escape.

"You have lovely eyes!"

"Go out with me!"

"Idiot, she is going out with me!"

"I'm not really…" Her tone got softer as she tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen. "I just wanted to get some sleep."

"I'll sleep with you Kagome!" The boy and all the others cheeks flushed red, showing what they truly had in mind.

"I didn't mean it like that-- Hey!" She shouted. "Don't touch me." She pulled away from his grasp, only to stumble back into another male. She gave a squeak of surprise as the circle around her got smaller and smaller, as they attacked from all sides like a pack. She looked at all the boys with uncertainty, as she stared into their lust filled eyes. She placed her hands onto her chest, and clamped her eye shut. "Please, I…"

How did it turn out like this? She just wanted to get some rest-- A soft fabric was gently draped over her head, and she felt arms wrap around her form, pressing her into a firm chest. The scent of roses filled her nose, and she sighed. He hugged her tighter to him, and she felt a threatening rumble surround her. The vibration of his growl echoed throughout her body, making her shiver in delight.

"I believe that is enough…" His usual calm tone was pricking with slight anger, showing his seriousness. The boys took a step back. "Leave." His eyes hardened at them, and his hold tightened around her protectively.

"Kurama…" She whispered softly into his rich maroon jacket, smiling. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lovely scent filled her mind. His rhythmic heart thumped loudly in her ears, soothing her. She hummed, gently resting her head onto his chest.

"Yo, Suichi, we didn't mean to upset you man." One of the boys tried to reason with him.

"Yeah, we didn't know she was yours." Some backed away, while others were already headed for the door, knowing that they wouldn't stand a chance compared to him, when it came to smarts and good looks.

"Leave." He repeated.

"Sure, dude, whatever you say." He gave a nervous laugh and the rest started to quickly walk to the door. "Dude…" He whispered to the guy beside him. "I've _never_ seen Suichi get angry before…"

"Me either." The other replied, and they both looked at him over their shoulders.

"**Scary!" **They gave a small shiver, before hurrying to the door.

"…" Once all the males left he sighed. "You okay, Kagome?" He asked her softly and looked down. When he didn't get an answer he frowned. "Kagome?" He repeated her name and pushed away the white fabric from her face-- "Asleep!?" He blinked in surprised, shock was clearly on his face. How could she fall asleep like that? As he looked upon her peaceful expression his eyes softened. "She must be exhausted."

He looked at his table, staring at the test tubes and chemicals. He then glanced back down at the sleeping girl and smiled. He can continue the experiment later, Kagome was more important…

He gently pulled his lab coat off of her, and placed it on the nearby table. He carefully picked her up bridle style, and held her close to his chest. She gave a soft hum and nuzzled his neck.

"Let's go home."

He paid no heed to all the stares sent his way, from both his classmates and people walking down the street, while the frail package rested in his arms without a care in the world…

* * *

Kagome gave a soft hum as she slowly started to wake up. When did she fall asleep? She questioned while her eyes opened, revealing large blue orbs for all to see. Her cheeks took on a rose tint, when the first thing she saw was a well toned chest, and small flowing strands of familiar red locks.

She turned her head and looked over her shoulder, realizing they were inside of his room, on his bed-- Her eyes widened slightly and she looked down, noticing she was still in her sleepwear, and Kurama had on his comfortable red Pajamas. She glanced up, and saw he had a peaceful look on his face, as he continued to rest, his arms hugging around her body.

"Kurama." She whispered, trying to wake him. She placed her hand onto his chest, and tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Kagome…" He replied in a mumble, and pulled her closer. He nuzzled her hair, and sighed in contentment, causing her face to flush a pretty pink. So, he has finally given up on the boundary rule?

A small lock of his red hair tickled her nose and she gave a soft laugh, happy…


	10. Going To The Tournament

Kurama was standing in the back, inside of a dark forest, waiting for the boat, like all the other contestants for the Tournament. The day has finally arrived for the starting of the Dark Tournament, and everyone was as prepared as they could be for this day. They all trained as much as possible, in the small allotted time they had. Even though they only hand three months, from what he could already sense, everyone's powers have grown exponentially.

He was slightly worried over the fact that he once again lied to Kagome. He left her a note, saying he was gone on a school trip-- He sighed, closing his eyes. He knew it was for the best. She was strong, but he didn't want her to get messed up in his problems. He knew she would probably just distract him, and maybe everyone else from their goals if she came-- Yet why does he still feel guilty?

"Urameshi still hasn't showed up yet! What could that dummy be doing?!" Kuwabara angry spoke up.

"Hopefully he is finding us a fifth fighter." Kurama hummed an answer. But it was true, Yusuke hasn't appeared yet, and it was about time for the boat to arrive.

"Hmm." Hiei huffed. "Why don't you worry about yourself, Kuwabara? Have you gotten any better since our last fight?" He sounded skeptical.

"You'll see for yourself, shrimp boy!" He replied.

Kurama sighed, shaking his head side to side, smiling to himself--

"Nice to see the gang together like this…" A familiar voice flowed into their ears, making Kurama freeze in place, and snap his head up, eyes wide. Everyone quickly turned around, spotting the owner of the voice.

"Kagome!" Kurama spoke her name in surprise.

"Kurama!" She replied just as eagerly with a large smile, and ran up to him, embracing him in a hug.

"W-What are you doing here?!" He asked, too stunned to do anything else but stare at her. She backed away from him and turned so she was facing everyone.

"I'm here for the Tournament of course." She told them plainly. Everyone's eyes widened at her words. "Sesshomaru signed me up three months ago."

"D-D- Doesn't that mean we are going to end up fighting each other?!" Kuwabara gasped in shock, knowing they probably would be in trouble if they were.

"Actually, I am on your team" She replied with a grin.

"What?!" Kurama exclaimed.

"Yup!" She smiled. "I know you guys need five people, and your little group only has four-- so I decided to join you guys instead."

"That's great!!" Kuwabara spoke up, glad.

"Yeah, but if you already have another member, I'll back down, and be a substitute player, incase something should happen." She hummed.

"Kagome, you sure this is best?" Kurama looked down at her seriously.

"Even if I didn't want to, it's too late to back out now." She rolled her eyes at him.

"I suppose you're correct…" He sighed. Guess his plan just went out the window--

"Kuwabara, how have you been since I last kicked your ass?" She looked up at him with a smirk.

"Pretty good actually." He puffed out his chest, smiling. His cheeks flushed red as he tried to impress her.

"And how's my favorite fire apparition doing?" She glanced at Hiei and he turned his head away from her, huffing. "Aww, don't be like that-- It's been a while since I've seen you! You should give me a hug." She spread her arms out, waiting.

"No." He stated.

"Well, if you're not going to hug me-- I'll hug you!" She quickly jumped him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head into her chest with a purr. "I think you've gotten taller!" She grinned. Hiei's eyes widened slightly by the attack, stunned. Kurama's eyes also widened in surprise, by her sudden show of affection towards his companion.

"Woman, let go of me before I rip off your arms." He mumbled a threat into her chest. She gave a soft laugh, but let him go nonetheless.

For the second time, Kurama was speechless, as he watched Hiei reaction towards Kagome's hug. If it were anyone else he would have already cut them in-two-- This only proves that his assumptions were correct. He has been visiting her at her house, and they have somehow gotten close…

"You're so grumpy." She playfully teased him while poking his cheek. He sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring her. Correction-- They have gotten _very _close… Kurama looked away from the scene as a heated feeling started to boil in his blood--

"Don't I get a hug too!?" Kuwabara asked her, while spreading his arms out wide, grinning, and his cheeks flushed pink.

"Touch me, and I'll hit you in the crotch again." She calmly warned him. The tall male quickly moved his hands to cover up his most precious parts and paled.

"That's okay-- I'll keep my distance! No need to be rash!" He gave a nervous laugh. Kagome chuckled at his response, smirking.

"Hmm." Hiei was also smirking.

" 'Ta ship iz 'ere Matey's." A gruff looking man with only one eye and a pipe spoke up. "Now, let's try ta get on board wif'out any violence." He grumbled out. Kagome half expected him to say 'Arrrgh!' any minute now--

"Wait a minute, Sir!" Kuwabara spoke up. "Our team still has some stragglers."

"Then w'll hav'ta put 'a mark on t'ere heads and send out 'a hit man. Stand'rd rules of 'da Tournament."

"Now, now, that's not necessary." A familiar rough voice echoed into the forest, catching everyone's attention. Kagome turned around and spotted Yusuke, along with a short person, wearing a white cloth wrapped around their head and face beside him. "Sorry to keep you waiting, guys." He gave a lazy apology. She huffed, rolling her eyes at his relaxed form.

"What the hell, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled out. Hearing whispers and sly mumbles from all the demons around them, Kagome kept her guard up, keeping a close eye on them.

"These forest hikes really wipe me out." Yusuke complained while placing his hand onto a tree and slouching forward, as if tired.

"Yeah, you look awful." Kuwabara agreed. "No, wait-- That's just your face." He poked fun of him. "Heh-Heh" He gave a small laugh at his own joke.

"Yusuke." Hiei called his name, walking towards him.

"Hmm?" Was his reply as he turned to face the small fire apparition-- Without warning Hiei jumped towards him and started to repeatedly slashing at him. The slick teen easily dodged the quick attacks, their movements were mushed into swift blurs to the untrained eye.

"Man, their fast." Kuwabara spoke up. "I can barely keep up with my eyes." His beady orbs were dancing around, back and forth, as he tried to watch their actions.

"Damn Hiei." Yusuke hummed with a smile, after catching the blade between his fingers. "Is this how you say hello to people now?" He asked.

"Hmm." Hiei smirked towards him, a spark of interest dancing in his eyes. "I don't know where you have been all this time, but it seems you have improved your skills a little."

" '_Improved a little.' _" Kuwabara repeated, mouth gapped open in surprise, eyes wide. "Oh man! I would say he improved a lot!" He corrected him, still stunned.

"Don't be discouraged." Kurama tried to reassure him. "The fact that you could follow their moves, shows you have improved as well."

"…" Kagome gave a small yawn, and tiredly rubbed her eye.

Everyone's skills seemed to have grown since she last saw them, except for herself of course. She doesn't really need to be stronger to survive in this arena, she could probably win without trying-- But that isn't why she came. She came because something has been going on in the Human realm and she needs to find out why.

"So Yusuke." Hiei stood up and withdrew his sword. "I assume the little one is going to be the fifth member of our team?" He asked while glancing at the short masked person out of the corner of his eyes.

"Uh!?" Kuwabara spoke up, walking up to him. "You mean this little guy!?" He was more then a little surprised. "He's even shorter then Hiei!" He exclaimed.

"Trust me, that one is going to be a lot of help to us." Yusuke spoke up for his shorter companion.

"I don't know…" He didn't sound convinced. "He barely comes to my waist."

"Forget him." Hiei spoke up with a smirk. "Yusuke, Kagome, and I are all that will require."

"Kagome?" Yusuke repeated. He looked around until his brown orbs locked onto her blue ones.

"Yo." She lazily spoke up, raising her hand while scratched the back of her head with the other. She sighed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"To join your team." She plainly answered. "I wanted to be the fifth fighter, but it looks like you got someone else-- Guess I got no choice but to be a substitute now… Bummer." She mumbled to herself. Though in reality she didn't really care either way. She had her fair share of bloodshed and fighting in the 500 years of her life…

Yusuke looked like he was about to say something, but then another voice interrupted him--

"Enough pesky distractions!" The gruff call of the pirate sailor spoke up, raising his left hand--Uhh, 'Hook'. "Let's all 'get on board!!" He yelled out, his pipe bobbing up and down in his mouth as he spoke.

"Oh goody…" She spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Kagome was leaning against the ship's railing. She was positioned beside Hiei, who was standing on top of the railing, above everyone else. Kurama and the others were also within arms reach, as everyone stayed near the railing. They were off in their own thoughts, while looking at the other demons on the boat. We were stationed near the middle of the boat, so watching other combatants wasn't much of a neck stretcher to accomplish, even though it was a rather large boat.

"I'm bored." She mumbled to herself.

"I hope the island is more interesting then this…" Hiei spoke up as well.

"This isn't a vacation." Kurama reminded them.

"I know, but they could have at lest given us some food." Kuwabara said, and for once she agreed with him-- "With pretty waitresses." He added, causing her to roll her eyes at his silly comment.

"Ev'yone please turn 'yer eyes 'ta 'da capt'ins deck." The voice of that pirate echoed throughout the ship. Everyone did as they were told and looked up, spotting the short sailor standing on the top of a tall tower, above everyone else. " T'is still going 'ta be quite some time before 'da boat finds its way 'ta 'de harbor." He announced. "So we' be ha'ven some ent'tainment for 'ya's to keep 'ya from gettin' rowdy!"

"OooOo~!" Kuwabara suddenly exclaimed in excitement. "I knew it! Some dinner and dancing!" He happily cheered.

" 'De preliminaries battles for 'da tournament will be fought 'ere, on me trusty ship!" He quickly burst Kuwabara's bubble of joy. All the demons started murmuring to each other.

"Say what?!" The tall goof was not pleased…

"A preliminary for the competition." Hiei mumbled to himself, not sounding surprised.

"Now that we can't go anywhere." Kurama added. Suddenly the ship started to shake, causing everyone to wobble.

"Earthquake!" Kuwabara sounded the alarm, shocked.

"Fool." Hiei huffed. "There can't be earthquakes on the water."

"…" Kagome covered her parted lips with her hand, a giggle escaping. "Good one Hiei."

"Hmph." He turned his head away.

"Look." Kurama quickly caught everyone's attention and pointed to the center of the boat.

The middle of the boat started to split, and spread apart, until the two half's were wide enough to reveal a huge square hole. A large circle platform rose from the darkness, towing over the demons.

"Whoa." Was Kuwabara's intelligent comment.

"I'll tell it to ya straight." The echo of the pirate spoke up once more. "15 teams 'ave already been chosen and 're awaiting 'yer arrival." He stated. "That means, out of all 'ya on my ship, only one team will be competing on dry land." At his words all the demons started to boo and complain, shaking their fist at him in anger.

"Hold on." Kuwabara mumbled. "I thought we were the special guests?"

"This is how they operate." Hiei answered.

"Don't expect any red carpet treatment, Kuwabara." She spoke up as well. "After all, we are the 'human group', and every demon seems to hate our guts."

"Geez, thanks." He sighed. "Makes me feel a lot better…" He was being sarcastic of course.

"All teams pick out 'yer strongest fighters and bring 'em to the ring." He ordered. "There they'll fight 'de battle royale'! Who'ver comes out alive will win their team a ticket to fight on 'da island!"

"So, its one big beat down uh?" Kuwabara smirked while cracking his knuckles. "Guess its time to show them my special attack…" He gloated. A large thump vibrated the ship as a large ogre demon appeared behind him.

"I do like larger battles." He agreed with him. "One-on-one always makes me bored." The demon's deep voice hummed out in amusement.

"A great chance to sharpen my claws." A green demon hissed out while flexing his hands. His razor sharp claws glistening from the movement.

"Now I can kill as many demons as I want-- After I rip that human boy inside-out of course." Another large demon appeared, smirking. All three of them started to laugh, as they walked towards the stage.

"You know…" Kuwabara mumbled to himself. His eyes were wide in slight fear and his body was stiff. "These guys look awfully big when they are standing right next to you." He just now noticed. "Ha-ha-ha." He suddenly gave a mocking laugh, hands on his hips. "That's right!" He pointed to Yusuke. "_You're_ the one who wants to fight them! I guess it is _your _reasonability as the group leader…" He quickly turned chicken, his tail between his legs. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"He's sleeping." She told him, since he obviously didn't know. Yusuke was sitting with his back against the railing, head hung low, resting peacefully without a care in the world.

"Sleeping!?" He yelled out. He was about to go to him, to wake him up, but she quickly got in front of the teen.

"Don't disturb him, just because you are too scared to fight them yourself." She stuck up for him.

"I-- I'm not scared!" He objected.

"Yeah, right." She wasn't convinced.

"The training Yusuke went through was apparently immense." Kurama spoke up. "You must give him time to recuperate." He also agreed not to wake up the sleeping boy.

"Then who is going to fight the demons?" Kuwabara questioned. Soft footsteps entered her ears and they all watched as the masked fighter started walking towards the stage.

"Seems we have a volunteer." Hiei looked amused by this. "Good. I'm anxious to see what he can do."

"Are you serious?!" The tall one had something to say yet again. "We don't know jack squat about that guy! What if he loses and we get booted from the tournament!?" Kuwabara objected to the idea.

"If that happens all we have to do is kill everyone else before the boat reaches the island." Hiei told him. "We'll say we are the right team and no one will complain."

"…" Kuwabara looked at him with a weird expression, his eyebrow twitching. "You didn't have too many friends growing up… did you?"

"Heh." She gave a small laugh, finding the comment to be funny. "I think it's a splendid idea." She stuck up for her short, crimson-eyed companion. "Though I doubt we will need to use his brilliant plan." She added.

"Why do you say that?" Goofy questioned.

"I'm sure our fighter will win." She stated matter of fact.

"Oh?" Kuwabara blinked in sunrise, and turned towards the stage. Everyone watched as the fighters stood on the battlefield, getting ready. She quickly noticed all the demons were on one side of the stage, all looking towards their fighter.

"Hmm." The brown ogre from before hummed. "Let's attack the one from the human team first." He spoke up.

"Then we can start on each other." The green one hissed.

"Sounds like a plan." Another one agreed.

"Hey--!" Kuwabara barked out. "We have to do something to warn him! They're all going to gang up on him and he trapped himself into a corner!"

"Patience." Kurama tried to calm him down, but she noticed his eyebrows were angled together, upset as well.

"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine." She told them.

"We are you so confident about him?" Hiei asked, slightly curious.

"Your not?" She questioned him, looking at them out of the corner of her eyes. "Yusuke, the man who you have chosen to be the leader, has picked him to be our ally. That should be reason enough." She stated. "You should trust his judgment, as your leader and friend." She sighed and glanced at him. "Besides, he reminds me of a half-demon I know…" She was mostly mumbling to herself.

"Half-demon?" Kuwabara repeated.

"Yeah. He had a knack for attracting powerful companions, and if he is anything like him, this fighter is strong enough to take care of himself." She shrugged.

"Attack!!!" Suddenly the pirate's echoing voice shouted through the speakers. They quickly turned toward the stage, and watched as all the daemons screamed out, charging our teammate head on.

The small one took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before crouching down and placing his left hand onto his right wrist. Kagome noticed a large amount of his spirit energy was gathering-- Suddenly it exploded in a wave of power, as she watched spiritual energy blast out of his hand in small, but pure amounts, blasting all that stood in front of him. It was so strong that all the demons got hit multiple times, and was knocked into the air, before flying off the boat and landing into the ocean, probably dead.

"Wow, he got them all in one shot." Kuwabara seemed amazed.

"I'm sorry 'ta say that 'de 16 team will h've 'ta be 'a Human one. Winner is 'da Urameshi team…" The pirate didn't sound too happy about that fact, and all the demons started to boo, not liking it either.

"Nice." Kagome gave a small and slow clap, impressed, as their member walked up to them, stopping just in front of Kuwabara.

"That was a great job little man!" The tall male cheered as well. The silent team member pointed, and everyone looked. All of the demons around them slowly started to walk towards them, an angry scowl on their faces, weapons drawn.

"You really think we care about fighting by the rules?" One of the ogres hissed.

"There's only one way to find the best team on this boat." Another one spoke up.

"I think they stole my idea…" Hiei huffed.

"Of course, it was a good idea after all." Kagome hummed, shrugging.

"We will have to make them pay for that." The fire apparition added, pulling out his sword.

"No need." She quickly got in front of everyone, making them all pause and look at her. "Why waste your energy on weaklings like them?" She rolled her eyes. "I'll quickly take care of these fools." She sighed. "Just stay close alright?"

"What are you going to do?" Kuwabara asked.

"Watch…" She smirked, closing her eyes. "I won't even have to lift a finger." She snapped her eyes open, and suddenly a large pink bubble appeared around them.

"What's this?" One of the demons spoke up, huffing.

"A barrier?!" Another one snorted.

"What use will _that _do?! We'll just break it down!!!" He raised his club in the air. "Charge!!!!!" He gave a war cry and several demons ran towards it head on, bent on breaking it with power alone.

"…" They really are idiots.

Once their bodies touched the shield they instantly burst, turning into dust, only to be carried by the wind. Everyone's eyes widened in shock, and the demons murmured to each other, backing away in fear.

"What is that?!" One of them yelled.

"What happened?!" Another one shrilled out.

"Calm down!" One tried to reassure them. "As long as we don't touch it we should be fine! Just stay where you are and don't get close."

"That won't save you…" She hummed.

Slowly the bubble started to grow, expanding outward. All the demons screamed as they watched it slowly inch closer. They started backing away, and once it touched some of the closer ones, turning them into a pile of ash, they quickly panicked. They turned around, fleeing from the attack, yet it was too late--

She swiftly called out her powers, and in an instant the barrier covered the entire boat before they even had a chance to retreat, encasing the boat in a huge, pink, bubble. The only thing left untouched was the tall captain's tower that was stationed in the middle of the ship, barely hovering above the pink glow of the shield. The pirate looked on in horror, and he dropped his microphone, staring down at the scene in disbelief.

She sighed and slowly the shield faded. She turned around, humming in satisfaction, facing her teammates. The only one who looked remotely surprised was Kuwabara. His jaw was hanging open, so low that it was touching the floor, his eyes wide. Hiei was intrigued, for his was smirking as well, eyes holding a small spark of amusement in them. Kurama smiled at her, nodding. The masked fighter looked indifferent, and Yusuke, of course, was still sleeping.

"What was that?!?!" Kuwabara questioned.

"A barrier." She stated, as she walked past him, going towards the railing. "I just put my powers into it, and any demon that touches it gets purified into nothing." She shrugged. "…" She sighed, and slowly sat down onto the floor.

She was putting up a front on the outside, but the truth was that little stunt she pulled, left her feeling exhausted-- She thought she had more energy then that, and so she did it without thinking, but it seems that was a terrible miscalculation on her part. Being unable to do something as simple as a barrier without being drained, is quite upsetting to her. A barrier is one of the most basic of moves…

Since she rested for the past three months, she believed she recovered much of her powers and energy. She thought she would be able to go through the tournament, but it seems she was wrong. She felt weak, like she did long ago, before the jewel gave her longevity. Unable to do anything, or perform any attacks without draining herself. She had to resist another sigh that threatened to escape her lips. Has the Earth really drained so much energy from her?

"Kurama?" She called for him.

"Hmm?" He replied, looking towards her. She patted the spot next to her. He quickly understood her actions, and sat down beside her. "Yes? Is there something you wish to discuss with me?"

"…" She leaned against his arm, resting her head onto his shoulder. "Wake me when we get there." She mumbled out.

"Of course…" He smiled down at her.

She closed her eyes, and quickly drifted off into a dreamless sleep as his aroma filled her senses.

* * *

"Urameshi's Team has just checked in." A deep voice called to the other man who was standing on the other side of the room.

"Hmm." The man hummed in reply. He was staring out of the window, in thought, a table beside him. He was clad in a black business suit, with sleek black hair that went to his shoulders. "I spoke to the captain." He told him. "The other demons onboard were no match for them."

"Were you really expecting it any other way?" The strikingly taller man wasn't that surprised.

"I wasn't expecting them to be defeated by only one member."

"One member?" He repeated. "Was it Urameshi?" That caught his attention.

"No…" He shook his head. "It was a woman."

"A woman?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I believe he said that they 'suddenly turned into dust.' Is how he described it."

"To dust…" He mumbled. "…!!" His eyes widened slightly under his dark shaded glasses. "What was this woman's name?"

"Hmm…" The man looked onto the table beside him, and picked up the sheet of paper lying on top. On it was the list of all the contestants, and who they will be fighting. "I believe it was Kagome." He told him when he scanned the list and found her name. "It says here that she is their substitute player." He paused, and turned around to look at him over his shoulders. "Does that mean something to you…?"

"Things just got interesting…" He smirked.


	11. The First Battle

_**NOTE:**_Hey guys! Sorry if this update took a while! (Though not as long as last time) Without me having to tell you, you can probably see why it took so long, lol. I know what you're thinking… O_o;; Lol 19,478 words! It's a new record for me! Even more then my Ouran X-over, and that's saying something...

So please enjoy the chapter and all the hard work I put into it!

_**Story**_

"Been a while since I've seen a place this nice." Kagome spoke up as she looked around the room. Everything looked expensive and overly decorated.

Kuwabara gave a small grunt as he placed Yusuke onto one of the couches. The only one left was an L shaped couch directly across from it, on the other side of the coffee table.

"I haven't seen this much rich stuff in my whole life." Kuwabara also had to give his own two-cents into the conversation. Hiei sat down onto the couch, and so she decided to sit beside him.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a cold tone, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed.

"I'm sitting down."

"You don't have to be so close." He huffed.

Of course he was right, there was enough room for everyone to sit down, yet still be evenly spaced out onto the lone couch. Yet she didn't mind that, and decided to stick by the heated demon, sitting so close their thighs were touching-- Why? Because she enjoys messing with him…

"Don't be so grumpy!" She reached out and quickly pulled him to her, crushing his head onto her chest as she cooed.

"What the hell woman…" He grumbled out, glaring. She gave a small laugh as his gravy defying hair brushed against her nose, causing it to tickle. As his cinnamon scent surrounded her, she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair-- "Let. Go. Now." He ordered.

"Why?" She asked.

"Damn woman."

She could tell he was getting frustrated, and she laughed at his embarrassment. He took a deep breath and sighed. Reaching up he calmly grabbed her wrists and removed her arms from around him. He backed away from her, sitting straight in his spot once more.

"Kurama likes my hugs." She mumbled. "Isn't that right Kurama?" She looked towards the redhead.

"…" He turned away from them. What's wrong with him--?

"I want a hug!" Kuwabara jumped up, arms wide.

"Fat chance."

"Oh~" Yusuke grunted. "Rejected…"

"Shut up Urameshi!" Kuwabara screamed at his sleeping form. Kagome gave a small laugh, finding it funny that Yusuke was able to insult him while still sleeping-- A small squeak caught everyone attention, and the room went quiet. "Hiei, was that you--"

"No." He glared at him, daring him to say anything-- Suddenly a familiar face popped out of his shirt collar, showing himself to the rest of the world. He gave another squeak as he hopped onto Hiei's shoulder.

"Is that a mouse?!!?!" Kuwabara screeched while pointing towards the pet.

"Kaji!!" Kagome called the mouse's name, picking up the small creature. It squeaked in joy and hearts floated around its head. "I wondered if Hiei would bring you…"

"Kaji!?!?" At this point Kuwabara was in tears, holding his sides while laughing.

"You got a problem with that name?!" Kagome glared at him. "That's my grandson's name, I'll have you know."

"Grandson?" He paused in his laughter and looked at her.

"Yeah." She reached up and petted Kaji's head with her finger, causing the mouse to squeak playfully.

"Does that mean you have children, Kagome?" The goofy teen was now interested.

"Not by blood, but I think of him as my own son." She told him while placing Kaji back onto Hiei's shoulder. "He now has children of his own, and they call me grandma 'Gome." She sighed, remembering the past. "Their furry ears are so cute…" Her expression softened at the image of her adorable grandchildren, and a blush stained her cheeks.

"So the shrimp has a pet mouse?" Kuwabara switched the subject back to Hiei and his mouse. The creature was nibbling on a seed while standing on its hind legs, on top of Hiei's shoulder.

"I'm the one who gave it to him." She told him.

"I thought that was the case…" Kurama mumbled.

"You knew about it Kurama?" Kuwabara looked at him.

"I only saw a glimpse of it." He replied. "But he quickly denied it and left before I could ask him."

"Don't worry Hiei." She whispered to him, noticing he was ignoring everyone. "This only proves that deep down you're a nice guy." She teased.

"It's your fault I'm in this situation." He huffed.

"Admit it Hiei, you have grown attached to Kaji."

"Damn woman…" He turned his head away from her and she smiled.

* * *

"So, this Toguro guy is the reason you are fighting?" Kagome mumbled out while still sitting beside her favorite fiery companion. They just got done telling her what was going on since she hasn't talked to the detectives about their jobs, personally.

"Yeah." Kuwabara nodded. "We want a rematch, more or less, and he said to come here-- If not he was going to kill us all." He stated halfheartedly.

"Hmm." She had a suspicious feeling that this Toguro character is probably the 'problematic' reason she was sent here as well. This demonic man is up to something, no doubt. "Don't worry I'm sure you can beat him." She tried to liven up their mood. "Just don't die while trying to reach him…" She mumbled some words of advice.

"Gee, thanks." The tall teen rolled his eyes.

"Why are you here, Kagome?" The familiar cooling voice of Kurama fell into her ears. "I'm positive you didn't take time from your family just to fight some demons."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, as her curious friend hummed beside her. Sandwiched between two demons--A hot head and a redhead, what joy…

"You're right." She confessed, shrugging. "Sesshomaru sent me because something strange is going on. He has a feeling a massive problem is starting to surface on Earth, and might be connected to the Dark Tournament in some way." She sighed. "But he doesn't know what it is, or even gave me a hint. He just signed me up and told me to snoop around while trying to stay alive-- Damn dog…"

"Is it something we should be worried about?" Kurama seemed interested. "Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't bother to concern himself with small matters, it must be important." He quickly calculated.

"You're very clever Kurama, I wouldn't expect anything less from you." She complimented him. "But yes, it's very important. It has to do with the Demon World-- That's why Sesshomaru had bothered to even poke around with it."

"The Demon World?" This also caught Hiei's attention.

"It was just some rumors but if they even have a slightest truth to them, Sesshomaru couldn't ignore them." Reaching up she rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "But like I said before, he wouldn't tell me what the rumors were about and left me to figure it out myself." She sighed. "I think he did that on purpose."

"_You barge into my office, while I am working, at least three times a day." He reminded her. "And it's because you are bored, and somehow think I am going to entertain you in someway." She flinched. He's right… "Or you wish to 'chat' and babble on about how your day went. As if I was interested in your senseless chatter…"_

He was paying her back for all those times she has pestered him-- That Asshole…

"You're evening coffee, gentlemen." A bellhop entered the room without knocking. We should really lock the door-- "Compliments of the hotel." He told them while placing an equal number of tea cups filled with coffee onto the table. With that said he left without doing anything else.

"Coffee." Kagome mumbled as she stared at her cup without picking it up. She glared at it, as if it was an enemy about to attack her. "I hate coffee."

"You don't _have _to drink it." Kurama told her while taking a sip of his cup. Hiei, and even the masked fighter, was holding their cups. She huffed, and abruptly stood up, walking to the door. "And where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm going to get me some damn tea-- They can shove that coffee up their ass for all I care." She _REALLY_ hated coffee.

"Careful, those fancy guy might be trying to poison us."

"Does that really make sense, Kuwabara?" Kurama hummed. "Why would they bring us all the way here to poison us?"

She could hear their whispered voices as she exited the suite, the door closing behind her with a soft click.

* * *

Kagome was walking down the hallway, when something sparked at the edge of her senses, and she paused.

"And here I thought it would be difficult to catch you alone." A deep voice called behind her.

She turned around to face her opponent. When her eyes spotted the figure, she sighed. The male was extremely big, in both muscles and height, easily towering over her. He was wearing shades, and an olive green trench coat. His tone was deep, filled with confidence, and the air around him reeked of 'asshole' with his I'm-better-then-you attitude.

"Toguro, I presume?"

"What gave me away?" He looked down at her, a cocky grin on his face.

"Just go ahead and tell me what it is you want with me, so I can go back to more important matters." Hearing her words he gave an amused chuckle.

"Quick to the point, I like that." He smirked. "You see, I was wondering if the powerful and highly known 'Lady Kagome', shadow to Lord Sesshomaru, would be willing to fight me in a match." He offered.

"So you know who I am?" She sighed and placed her hand onto her hip. "Then this conversation will go by much quicker." She shrugged. "Of course the answer will be 'no'."

"Why is that?" He questioned. "Wouldn't it be much simpler to get rid of me here, and save your teammates all the hassle of the tournament?" Her eyes hardened and she pointed angrily at him.

"Listen here, asshole." She called out to him. "I'm in a bad mood right now, so I will spare the long and drooling details, and get right to it." She growled. "Your demonic energy is nothing compared to me-- I could kill you with simple a touch, but I won't." She ran her fingers through her long hair and sighed. "I have learned not to mettle with men and their battles. Yusuke wishes to have a rematch with you, so I will not get in the way of his pride and whatever nonsense is going through his head. What problems he has with you, is none of my concern, and I am not so feeble as to steal his kill, when he wishes to fight you so badly that he trained for three months and is willing to go through the entire tournament just to clash fists with you."

"Quite noble of you." He commented.

"But if any of my friends get severely injured, or comes close to dying…" Her voice faded in warning and her eyes glowed white. Her hair gently flowed around her as her power flared, which no doubt clashed with his, making his skin sizzle from the contact. "There will be no place to hide when I start hunting for your head-- Is that understood?"

"I look forward to it." He didn't seem to be threatened by her words.

"You may have been human once, but that doesn't mean I will take pity on you if you dare to anger me."

"So you could tell…" That fact seemed to have hit a nerve in him.

"Though the battles are none of my concern, I have a feeling _you_ are the reason I was sent here." She poked him in the stomach, which was eye-level to her, causing him to chuckle. "And I _will_ find out what you are planning…"

"Good luck with that." He hummed in response.

"…" She snorted at him, and walked past his bulking form, going back towards the team's room. "While you're at it, tell those damned Hotel people to send me up some tea-- I hate coffee." She ordered to him behind her shoulder, smirking.

Slowly her soft footfalls echoed down the hallway as she faded from sight. Once she was gone, another figure emerged from the shadows, walking up to the taller male.

"She is quite spirited, hmm?" He gave a small chuckle, smirking. "That cheeky attitude of hers is rather attractive…"

"It would be best not to joke about her, Sakyo." Toguro frowned.

"So her threats weren't just hot air?" He hummed, slightly surprised. "Is she really that powerful?"

"More then even _my_ mind can fathom."

"Then she might prove to be a huge problem for us." His unlit cigarette bobbed up and down in between his lips as he talked. "Well, isn't this exciting…" He just passed it off as another piece to the puzzle. A small obstacle blocking their way to victory. He'll find someway to figure her out--

"I told you she was interesting."

"Indeed…"

A few minutes after she arriving at the room, the bellhop returned, bringing her tea…

* * *

Kurama was lying in bed. He could feel Kagome's body heat as her back was pressed against his, both sleeping in the small bed. His mind continued to wander and he was having trouble falling asleep. It wasn't because Kagome was so close to him-- He has gotten use to her closeness in the past months she has been with him. It is now a regular and usual thing for them to be sleeping like this, though not in such a small bed.

What was bothering him was the image that kept playing in his mind over and over again, about the past events that happened with Kagome and Hiei. He gave a sigh and reached up, running his fingers though his hair in thought.

Kagome acted so friendly with him, and Hiei didn't seem to be angry by it. This fact upset him, and every time he saw them together, a heated feeling would boil in him, and his blood would race.

He knew what this feeling was, he was smart enough to figure it out, but at the same time he was having trouble accepting the fact. Him, Yoko Kurama-- Jealous? He almost wanted to laugh at the thought. Why would he be jealous?

Kagome and Hiei seemed to get along fairly well, and that should be a good thing. Both of his closest friends getting along is a nice thing and he should be happy about that--

"_And how's my favorite fire apparition doing?" _

Kagome's voice echoed in his head, spinning his mind into another direction all together.

"_Well, if you're not going to hug me-- I'll hug you!" She quickly jumped him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head into her chest with a purr. _

Why did she hug him like that? He gave a small huff as he felt his blood heat up. They are so friendly with each other-- Hiei usual hates for people to touch him, why the change of heart now? His eyebrows angled together in thought, and he reached up, rubbing his face in annoyance. Was there something going on between them?

Kagome was being very kind to him-- Then again, Kagome is a kind person by heart-- But that doesn't excuse the fact that she hugged him, and Hiei didn't seem disgusted, or at least deeply angered by it.

"_Woman, let go of me before I rip off your arms." He mumbled a threat into her chest. _

Of course, Kurama knew he only said that as a front, there was no hate or anger in his tone. Annoyance and surprise, yes, but hate, no--

Something seemed off by this, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. He was going insane with questions, and the conclusions to those very questions were not ones he particularly liked. In the end he was getting nowhere, yet for each passing second he was getting more and more upset.

Was he missing something?

Yes, that had to be it. He was missing a crucial part of information to settle this resolve once and for all. After all, Hiei and Kagome were probably just close companions--

"_Don't be so grumpy!" She reached out and quickly pulled him to her, crushing his head onto her chest as she cooed._

_Very _close companions… Who are able to see each other every night-- Hiei going into her room, alone-- Meeting each other without telling him. Of course, they can't be anything else except friends… Right?

At this point, Kurama was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into his own delusion of denial…

He felt his blood heat up in slight anger, and balled his fists into the comforter till his knuckles grew white. Reaching up he rubbed his face in frustration, as he felt his sense of mind slip from his grasp.

You know, he could always _ask_ her. She is right there-- It would save him a lot of frustration. He slowly turned his head and peaked over his shoulder, getting a glimpse of her raven locks that pooled above her head…

"Kagome." He gave a hushed whisper, as if afraid to be caught. After a few quiet moments, he didn't receive a reply. Believing she didn't hear him, he tried again, only a little louder and with more confidence. "Kagome?"

"…" Several seconds passed. "…H..mm…?" She finally gave a groggy and halfhearted grunt. He sighed and turned over to face her with a serious expression, as he bore a hole into her back with his piercing emerald orbs.

"Well, it's about you and Hiei--"

"Mmm." She gave a happy hum, and rolled over as well, her face inches from his. "He smells nice…" She commented on Hiei's flavorful aroma, with half-closed eyes.

He blinked in surprised, not expecting that random statement. Is she talking in her sleep? He just now realized. Yet that didn't detour him from his goal. His feathers were still ruffled, and he was upset. He wanted answers.

"Kagome I--"

"Don't worry." She sighed in contentment, and cuddled up to him, placing her head underneath his chin. "You smell nice too…" She nuzzled her face into his bare chest, and her hot breath skimmed across his skin as she purred.

"…" His anger quickly deflated as the girl slept against him without a care in the world. "Kagome." He whispered her name and raised his arms, wrapping them around her smaller form. "I can't stay angry with you, when you say such strange things..." His lips curved into a small smile, and he closed his eyes. Burying his nose into her silky hair, he inhaled her Vanilla scent and sighed in satisfaction. "You smell nice as well."

* * *

The sound of grumbled chatter filled her ears, as the hundred of demons bickered among themselves, getting restless while awaiting the fight. At first the sound was annoying, but she soon learned to tune them out until the noise was just fuzz, allowing her mind to wander without problems.

The accomplishment wasn't difficult to achieve, since she was standing behind the ever calm Kurama, in the back of the group. With every inhale of air, his lovely scent would fill her with soothing images of wild roses, relaxing her. It wasn't until a muffled echo entered her ears, and the movement of the others stepping forward, did she snap out of her daze, following directly behind them.

"This year's guest, Team Urameshi!" The foxy woman spoke up. She was standing in the middle of the tournament ring, a microphone in her hand.

As they stepped into the light, out from the doorway and into the arena battleground, the hisses and boos of the demons around them left a bad taste in her mouth. It seems that every demon watching dislikes the Spirit Detectives, for one reason or another. She shrugged, a small smirk on her face. This will just make things all the better once they win. Those demons shocked looks will be hilarious.

"This is sure one heck of a greeting for 'special guests'." Kuwabara complained. "What the hell is their problem?"

"I agree Kuwabara." Kurama spoke up. "It surely isn't pleasant to be called a traitor by creatures you've never meet."

"Both teams into the arena." The foxy lady called-- If she wasn't mistaken, her name was 'Koto'. Our team stepped forward until both parties were on either side of the announcer in the middle of the ring. After taking a good once over at their enemy, she sighed.

"So these are the ones who came into the room while I was gone?" She hummed. By the descriptions they gave her last night, she would have to make a good assumption that it was the brightly clothed child, and the pale vampire man with spiky blond hair.

"Yes." Kurama gave a small reply.

"Before we begin I would like to ask Team Urameshi's substitute to leave the enclosed area." She felt most eyes zoomed onto her and she looked up, her blue eyes meeting the aqua color of the announcers.

"What for?" She asked. "I do not see anything wrong with wanting better seats. And what better seat could there be then in here? The view from beyond the wall is just a tad too ridicules to watch from way up there." She sighed. "Besides, not like I'm going to do anything anyways."

"Well, I suppose that's true…" Koto mumbled to herself. "Committee?" She looked towards the screen, wanting to know what they thought on the situation.

Everyone also had their focus on the large T.V monitor that over looked the arena. After just a few seconds of thought, a large circle appeared on the bottom of the screen, showing their answer. Most were not happy with the outcome, not wanting the Urameshi team to have anything go their way, but on the other hand, the rest didn't give a rat's ass about her, after all she was just the substitute.

"What do you know, they actually agreed." Kuwabara mumbled.

"Were you expecting it to be any other way, Kuwabara?" Kurama questioned.

"Yeah. I mean, like Kagome said. We probably aren't going to get any red-carpet treatment." He huffed. "We are not exactly the most popular group in the tournament…"

"Yes, that is true." Kurama agreed. "But this was just a simple request about seating accommodations, by our substitute player. If I dare say, to them, she and her request was nothing of importance to them." He stated matter-of-fact.

"I see…" Kuwabara nodded, yet Kagome had a feeling he only understood half of what Kurama even said--

"Now that we got that sorted out, let's get started!" Koto cheered, raising her hand into the air happily. The demons roared, pounding the feet and shaking their fists. "As always, the terms of the fighting for each match can be decided by the leaders of the two teams" She spoke with a pleasant smile on her face. "Of course, if the leaders can't agree, we will default to one-on-one fights. Determining the wining team by the most individual wins." She looked from one team to the other. "Make sense?"

"Not exactly Miss." Kuwabara spoke up. "Our team leader is still asleep." He grumbled out through clinched teeth, obliviously upset by that fact.

"Well then Kuwabara, you will have to be the one to do it." Kurama suggested. His words turned the tall teen's attitude upside down within seconds, and he grinned at him like a happy child.

"Really!?!?"

"I don't want to go to school mom." Yusuke grumbled while still laying on Kuwabara's back. "Let Kuwabara be the leader in the stupid tournament… Has anyone seen my green jacket?"

"Heh." The goof gave a cheeky laugh. "If that's not a transfer of power, then I don't know what is." The large grin was still plastered onto his face. "Lets do this tournament terms thing." He quickly got serious though, and took several steps forward, dragging Yusuke along with him, since he was still resting on his back.

"Fool." She heard Hiei whisper underneath his breath. She raised her hand to try and muffle her laughter, but a small amount escaped between her lips, causing her short companion to turn and look at her questionably.

"Good one." She lowered her hand, and smiled at him, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Hmph." He huffed, and turned his head back towards the enemy, awaiting their decision.

"I don't care how we play this fight." The vampire spoke up, while glaring at Kuwabara in intimidation. "It's not going to make any difference in the end."

"Then let's do man-to-man." Kuwabara suggested, also glaring at him in challenge. "That's how real men fight after all."

"Sounds like an agreement!" Koto's voice spoke up. "We are looking at one-on-one."

Kuwabara huffed in satisfaction and turned around, walking back towards us. Kagome watched with slight interest as the vampire stared at Yusuke, then as the goof finally reached us, the vampire's energy spiked. A blazing fire danced around his body as he flaunted his power.

"Hiei, we better be careful with this one." She heard Kurama whisper to him.

"Mmm." She gave a large yawn, showing her pearly whites to the world, a laid back attitude towards the situation.

"Hey!" Kuwabara's voice yelled above the noise of the flames. "Urameshi! You got to wake up!"

She watched as the tall one gripped Yusuke's jacket, and stared shaking him back and forth in an attempt to wake him. Suddenly the flames shot towards them, and just a hair away from contact, they curved and went around them, encaging the whole group, before launching to the side. They continued to glide across the ground, going beyond the arena and onto the grass covered surroundings. They then shot upward, going up the enclosed wall, and into the audience. She watched the demons scream in pain, as the flames engulfed many, and they were quickly burnt to a crisp by the raging attack. After all of that was done, nothing else was left but charred ash. Kuwabara snapped out of his shock and went back to shaking the team leader.

"Come on Urameshi--"

"Kuwabara, stop it." She called to him. "Let him rest." She once again had to tell the teen to leave the slick haired member alone. "He can sleep until he is needed. I'm sure he will wake up when that time comes." She told him. "Besides, these weaklings can be taken care of without his help, if that man is their greatest fighter."

"What did you say, woman?" The vampire wasn't too pleased by her words.

"I'm sure you heard me." She replied in a bored tone. "Your weak powers are nothing to be impressed about, if that is all you can muster." Count Crap-u-la growled at her, and took a step towards them, but then Koto popped her head from the side of the arena.

"Wahh~!" She gave a small shout. "Well people, it looks like the flames are out. I notice the audience is pretty quiet after that little outburst, but remember, that's half the fun." She jumped back onto the stage and sighed. "And no fighting before the match. If you are angry, take that anger and use it to pummel your opponent into the ground during your battle." She looked from vamp-man then at her. After a few seconds she raised her hand into the air. "Now send out your fighters, teams."

"I'll go first." The boy laughed, stepping into the middle of the ring with a cheerful attitude.

"Yeah, that kid is mine." Kuwabara mumbled, placing Yusuke onto the floor, and walking forward as well.

"You can take him out Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted between snores. "…I have to go hiking…" He mumbled out random nonsense yet again.

She gave a small laugh, and bent down, gently picking up the tired boy, and walking to the outside of the ring, placing him against its raised edge. The others followed not too far behind, and she took a spot standing between her two close companions, Hiei and Kurama.

Her gaze was focused onto the grassy floor, as her mind started fading off the subject at hand and wandering off yet again.

Hiei and Kurama are probably the only true friends she has, here on Earth. They knew her secrets, and she could be herself when around them. No fake appearance or lies, her true self, and that meant a lot.

Of course Yusuke and Kuwabara knew her secret and they were also part of the only people she could trust, but she hasn't been around them much compared to Hiei and Kurama. She has only met them both twice, at her home and before getting on the boat. Glancing to the side, she spotted the newest member of the group. She just meet the masked fighter yesterday, and he isn't exactly in the loop, but she had a feeling she could trust him.

Only five-- It's a very small number, but each person that stood by her side, was worth more to her then anything. Each breath they take, every heartbeat they make, and any words they speak, is the soothing sounds of life that every person makes.

Looking around the people once more she sighed, closing her eyes. She was told to come here to look for suspicious activity, but at this time, she believed there were more important things to worry about.

To make sure they continue to breath, their heart continues to pump, their lips continue to move-- They continue to live… That is more important to her then anything else, and she will make sure they make it through this tournament, no matter what.

Five might be a small number, but they are very precious to her, and she'll never let any harm come to them--

"AH!!" Kuwabara screamed in pain as he was kicked in the face by his opponent.

Well, not _entirely_… anyway.

They will no doubt be hurt, Kuwabara probably will more then the others, but she will definitely try and prevent them from dying-- Because dying isn't a fun… because your dead… and dying hurts-- What is she talking about anyway? She sighed, feeling a small headache settling in. If Sesshomaru were here dying wouldn't tactically be a problem either, but he's not…

"Such great agility." Kurama's voice spoke up, catching her attention. "His movements will be difficult to follow."

Kagome glanced back up at the fight and found the small boy, literally, running circles around our slower buffoon. The child was hopping and jumping around, showing off while doing flips and such over his head and around his form, laughing. Of course the boy's moves were nothing to her experienced eyes, but she knew Kuwabara probably was having some problems with him.

"I might be worried if it wasn't for one thing." Kuwabara called out. "You're leaving a trail!!" He shouted while charging, and landed a good punch on the small boys head. The child gave a shout of pain, as his body flew back and bounced, tumbling several times on the concrete arena, before skidding to a stop with a pained expression.

"Nice one, lame-o" She heard Yusuke mumble in his sleep, and she smiled down at the 'wonderful' leaders compliment.

"Our lessons have helped him more then we thought, Hiei." Kurama seemed impressed. "It seems Kuwabara is the type of fighter whose true skills can only be measured in the ring."

"That may be so, but he still doesn't understand _these _fights." Hiei quickly realized as he watched Kuwabara standing in front of the boy with a cheeky grin. "He should drop his honor and strike the boy while he's down."

"So brutal Hiei." Kagome glanced down at him.

"Of course. You won't find my enemies alive when I'm through with them--"

"It's rather sexy." She gave a hushed tease. Reaching over she ran her fingers through his spiky hair.

"Hmph." He quickly swatted her hand away and ignored her. She gave a small laugh, enjoying herself, before turning her attention back at the fight.

The boy finally got up, and the two started charging each other. Kuwabara gave a nice uppercut into the stomach, and the boy was sent flying backwards yet again.

"This could be Kuwabara's best chance to finish him." Kurama was talking, mostly to himself.

"Just stay down till the ref' counts to ten!" Kuwabara yelled out while jumping into the air, fist raised, putting all his strength into this one final blow. But as the attack came down, the boy disappeared before it made contact, leaving our teammate completely defenseless for a counter attack.

The boy appeared behind him, and Kuwabara turned around, but it was too late-- The child grinned and using all his strengthen, he twisted his hip and swung his foot, connecting it right into the goof-balls cheek. The teen's head quickly whipped around at the sudden force, and she could see his neck stretched and snapped from the powerful blow. Kagome gave a small hiss of displeasure, wincing from the sight. Kuwabara fell like a stack of stones, lying motionlessly on the concrete ring.

"Ouch." She broke the silence.

"The fool probably just died, and that's all you can say?" Hiei looked at her questionably.

"3--!" Koto continued her count.

"Now is not the time to be making a joke, Kagome." Kurama scolded her.

"5--!"

"But I was serious." She gave a small huff. "Besides, he's not dead." She stated matter-of-fact.

It was at that moment that Kuwabara decided he didn't want to continue lying down, and slowly sat up, surprising many. The boy, who she believed was named Rinku, seemed more angry then surprised. They both said words of challenge to each other, before the boy finally deciding to get serious and pulled something out of the small pouch that was dapped over his shoulders.

He gave a confident laugh as he showed everyone his greatest weapons, Yo-yo's--

"Oh goody, how exciting. What is he going to do, walk the doggy?"

"Heh." Her small comment earned a light chuckle from her short companion, and she smiled.

"Serpent Yo-yo attack." Like most anime characters, they randomly called out their attacks, believing shouting out a name gives it incredible power. The boy continued to laugh as the eight yo-yos, one placed between each finger, were starting to fill with spiritual energy.

"Oh yeah?!" Kuwabara didn't seem impressed. "Well, here's a new trick I got!" An orange ball of spiritual energy appeared in the palm of his hand, and quickly stretched, taking shape, into a rigidly and unstapled looking stick. Soon, another one appeared in his other hand and he took a half-assed, and possibility made up stance. "Double spirit sword!!" He also called out his new move. Oh~! Swords… That's what they were…

"Does he even know how to wield two swords?"

"No." Hiei stated.

"I thought so…" Mastering one sword techniques take years, let alone all the combos and motions of wielding two at once. No doubt Kuwabara's moves will not only be slow, but sloppy, and will probably just be made up reflexes as he goes along-- "I'm placing 50 bucks on Rinku."

"Kagome!" Kurama's scolded her yet again.

"I'll take that bet, and raise you a 100."

"Hiei!" Kurama leaned over and looked at him questionably. "Don't encourage her."

"Don't be such a party-pooper Kurama." Kagome huffed.

A movement caught her attention and her eyes were quickly focused back onto the stage. Rinku jumped, and threw four yo-yos at Kuwabara at once, each tied to a different finger. Kuwabara smirked and got ready, and just as they were within striking distances he swung both his weapons-- She watched with slight interest as the yo-yos dodged the blades and started to freely wiggle around, as if they were alive, and landed a direct hit on Kuwabara in several different places on his body.

After some confident remarks, as Kuwabara was slowly standing back up from the nasty hit, the boy explained that trying to hit them with his sword 'Was like trying to catch snakes barehanded.' The expression he used wasn't all too impressive, for the actual task wasn't very difficult to accomplish. There are many human's who wrangle snakes that way.

Once Kuwabara was back on his feet the boy wasted no time in attacking yet again. The teen was left with no choice but to retreat. Yet he did so in a special way, by running backwards and prying slabs of concrete and positioning them to stand in the way of the attack, creating a small line of barriers.

When several slabs were placed, the boy laughed, and with one flick of his wrist four yo-yos soared through the air. They easily penetrated them, and landed yet another direct hit on Kuwabara. Rinku wasted no time for him to recover, and before he even hit the ground, the boy wrapped the Yo-yos around his ankles and wrist, binding him. With the other four left he sent them up and slammed them into his back, and a cry of pain was heard once the punishing attack made contact with Kuwabara's spine.

The boy made a menacing laugh, enjoying himself as he relentlessly slammed her goofy companion over and over again into the hard stone of the arena. Yet it wasn't long before Rinku realized that no matter how many times he hit the concrete, Kuwabara was somehow able to take it. The boy was using up his energy, all his strength was spent tossing the big lug around the arena, so he quickly thought of something else, and Kuwabara was sent airborne yet again, except this time he didn't come back down.

He rose higher and higher with the help of the yo-yos until positioned above the stadium. At that moment she couldn't help but be reminded of a kite, as the tall human was gently blowing in the wind, arms and legs spread out. Watching at her teammate dangled helplessly in the air, she couldn't help but feel pity for the man…

"200 on Rinku." She raised her bet.

"Kagome!" The all too familiar tone of Kurama's scolding fell into her ears. She gave a small shrug.

She watched as the boy called back his yo-yos, and they unraveled themselves from around Kuwabara's ankles and wrists, retreating back into their master's hands. Gravity did its job and the heavy man started plummeting to the ground at high speed.

Kuwabara gave a laugh of confidence, and just as he was several feet from impact, he placed his hands together in front of him. The familiar orange energy appeared, yet this time he extended the sword's reach and it slammed into the concrete. It japed into it snuggly, and not only softened his fall, but Kuwabara's weight caused the sword to bend as he was descending, and like a pro pole-vaulter he was shot into the air. The force was great and he was headed straight towards Rinku, like a bullet.

Rinku just laughed, knowing that left him open for an attack, and sent out all eight of his yo-yos at once. Kuwabara called his sword, and the boy smiled. It was useless, he would just dodge the sword-- She watched with slight interest as the sword suddenly came to life, and like the yo-yos, started to bend and move.

The two were at a stalemate, both were in the air, and not only did both attacks weave and dodge one another, they were perfectly aimed. Both attacks hit their target at once, and the two fighters were sent flying on opposite ends, only to be forced out of the arena and land onto the grassy floor at the same time.

Kagome gave a low and soft whistle, impressed. Koto, after a brief pause and announcing what just happened, she started counting.

"1--!" Several moments passed and neither moved. "4--!"

"Get up!" Yusuke shouted in his sleep. "You're late-- Kuwabara!"

"5-- Uh~?" Koto paused in her count as she watched Rinku slowly crawl back onto the stage. The boy looked exhausted, and drained. "Rinku has entered the ring after five counts!" She announced. Without waiting Rinku started to heal himself and a small glow appeared in his hands, above the burn on his stomach. "But it's not over yet!" She reminded everyone that Kuwabara was still outside the ring.

"Get up there Kuwabara." Yusuke ordered. "I'm serious. I know you're use to losing, but not now." He mumbled out.

"6--!"

"What did you say!?!?" Kuwabara instantly popped back up on his feet, shouting angrily.

"Six, Kuwabara." She replied. "You have four counts to get in the ring."

"Not you! Urameshi!!!!!" He yelled. Running halfway around the ring he charged towards the sleeping leader. "You little punk!! You want to say that to my face?!?!?" He screamed, grabbing Yusuke by the jacket in rage. "Oh, you pretending to be asleep now?!" He started to shake him back and forth.

"7--!!" The echo of Koto's voice snapped him out of his anger. "8--!"

"Wait, I'm coming--!" He called to her. He was about to get up, but suddenly the broken yo-yos that were wrapped around his wrists came back to life and bound him yet again. They encircled his body, trapping his arms to his side, and also tying his wrists together in the front of him like cuffs. "Hey!!!" He shouted.

"9--!"

"That's cheating!!!" He desperately tried to struggle and free himself from the strings.

"10!!!!!" She finished her count. Kuwabara gave a desperate and disappointed grunt, and fell onto his back with a helpless thud.

"Man Kuwabara, you suck."

"Shut the fuck up Kagome!!" Was his witty reply.

"Temper, Temper." She hummed with a smirk on her face.

"And Rinku is the winner! The Rokuyukai Team gets a point!" Koto announced.

"That was fairly innocent." Kurama commented with a smile. "It's rare to see both fighters still standing."

"Hmph." Hiei huffed. "I assure you it won't happen with me."

"I believe someone owes me some money…" Kagome glanced down at Hiei. He looked up at her, and she lowered her hand, opening her palm in front of him, waiting. "No checks or credit, cash only please." She opened and closed her four fingers playfully, as if saying 'cough it up'

"The fool is still alive, that doesn't count."

"That doesn't matter, he lost."

"Being alive means he won, in my account."

"Your opinion is useless."

"Don't make me lop off that pretty head of yours." He threatened.

"You think I'm pretty?" She blinked in surprise. His eyes widened slightly, and he turned his head away.

"That is not what I meant." He defended himself. She gave a small laugh.

"I'll take that compliment as your payment." Her expression softened and she placed her hand onto his shoulder.

"I told you, I didn't--" He paused and looked at her hand. Swatting it away from him he sighed. "Whatever…"

"Hmm." She continued to look at Hiei for a few seconds longer, before her eyes landed on a familiar goof-ball. "Kuwabara." She called to him. He looked up from his sitting position on the floor.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"You okay or did those toys actually do damage?" She asked.

"What do you think?" He stood up abruptly, holding his arm. He was covered in scraps, bruises, and dirt was smudged over his clothes and face.

"They are just flesh wounds. You can fight the next battle straight away!" She announced while smirking at him. He gave her a 'What the hell' look, and she had to resist laughing. "But just to be safe, why don't you come over here so I can heal you." She motioned for him to come to her, smiling.

"You can heal me?" He questioned while limping towards her.

"Of course." She nodded at him as he stood directly in front of her. "Since you are human, it won't take so long. With demons I have to be cautious on using too much power at once. If I use too much they instantly burst into dust on contact." She flashed him a bright smile.

"Umm…" Hearing her words, he turned around and started tiptoeing away from her. "I think I'm better off without your help--"

"Oh nonsense." She reached over and forcefully pulled him down to the ground, into seating position. Even though she tried to convince him, he didn't seem too sure about it.

She shook her head and quickly reached out. Hovering one hand above his cheek, and another on his chest, over his shirt, she allowed her powers to go into them. They glowed pink with energy, and within a few short moments all the wounds on his body melted away, leaving the dirt and ripped clothing behind.

"It's warm…" Kuwabara mumbled as the last of the scraps were disappearing. Only a few seconds of time passed, before it was already over, and she stood up. "That was fast."

"I told you it would be." She hummed.

"Kurama." Hiei's voice caught her attention and she turned towards the fire apparition. Immediately noticing a certain redhead was no longer standing beside her, she looked towards the stage, and spotted him already standing in the middle of the ring, in front of the next challenger. "Considering the stakes, we can't afford to take any chances. Don't leave the ring with him still alive." She wasn't sure if he was giving him advice or ordering him…

"Naturally." Kurama replied.

"Good luck." She gave a gentle wave, smiling. "Not sure what you can do yet, but I'm 50 percent positive you can beat him… maybe."

"With that _excellent _vote of confidence, I'm sure to win now…" He whispered back, smirking. She gave a light hearted laugh.

"You know I'm just being a good sport, Kurama." She joked around. Obviously she knew that he was going to win, hands down. The other demon was such a weakling…

"We will deal with the rest of their team, you can sit out for the duration of the fight." Hiei looked over to Kuwabara.

"Hey! I'm not out of this yet!" He called out, pointing to himself. "If Yusuke doesn't wake up, I'll take the last guy."

"We'll pray that doesn't happen…" He replied.

"Don't be so tough on him Hiei." Kagome looked down at him. "Kuwabara is a _great _fighter…"

"See, Kagome agrees that I'm pretty good." The goof puffed out his chest in pride, grinning.

"She was being sarcastic, you fool."

"Pssh--!" She placed her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles. "You're so gullible Kuwabara!"

"Oh, screw you guys!!" He huffed, and swatted his hand in their direction, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alright boys I'm here." A cheerful voice peeped up. "Oh, and Kagome…" She added.

Spotting the only person she knew with blue hair running towards them, she had to resist sighing. Its not that she doesn't like Botan, it's just the girl reminded her so much of her younger self-- It left a bad taste in her mouth. Old memories were sometimes not all good.

"Leave, before you hurt yourself." Hiei quickly stated.

"Well, that's a nice thing to say to someone who is going to help you win, don't you think?!" She huffed.

"Ah~!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Doesn't that mean you're, like, the replacement fighter for Urameshi!?"

"Kuwabara?" Kagome called to him in a calm tone.

"Yeah?" He replied, turning to look at her.

"Are you retarded?"

"N-No!"

"Then I suggest you not open your mouth whenever a question pops into your mind. It will make you seem smarter…"

"…" Hiei gave a small smirk, amused.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?!"

"What am I?" She asked while turning towards him seriously. "On this team, what am I?"

"You are the substitute-- Oh~~!!" He gently pounded in fist into his other hand, finally understanding.

"…" Reaching up she patted his chest in encouragement. "I'm sure stupidity is just a phase you're going through."

"I'll get Yusuke out of the way." Botan walked past her and bent down, grabbing his ankles. She was out of her orange Kimono, and into brown slacks with red suspenders, and a yellow dress shirt underneath. "Ugh!" She gave a small grunt, as she dragged him through the grass by his feet and onto the wall by the audience, instead of the ring.

Once Botan was off to the side with Yusuke, she placed her full attention back on the ring, her blue eyes focusing on the calm demon standing before her. She hasn't really asked Kurama any personal questions, or anything that has to do with the spirit detectives, including his fighting style, so today was going to be the first time she has seen him in battle. No doubt he will use his wits to win, she knows he is a very cunning man. Wonder if he is an elemental manipulator? Just thinking about it made her excited, while waiting in anticipation--

"You know, that rose whip he's got must be 10 feet long." Kuwabara's voice caught her attention, as he was talking to Hiei. "Where does he stash it? Only ways I can think of sound kinda painful."

"Kurama simply carries a normal rose. By manipulating his spirit energy, it is transformed into a whip." Hiei answered. "Even weeds can turn into a deadly weapon for Kurama."

"Rose…Whip." Kagome mumbled to herself, and glanced down at the ground. It couldn't be…

"Begin!!" Koto yelled out through the microphone, snapping her out of her daze and back towards the ring.

The enemy, Koto called him Roto, started a small conversation, saying few words of insight. After he seemed confident for some reason, the demon's middle finger grew and changed into a large blade-like weapon and he charged head-on for Kurama.

Kurama easily dodged his attacks with fluent and graceful reflexes. It was quite obvious who was going to win this fight--

"He is clearly no match for Kurama." Hiei spoke up. "It's a pity you couldn't have taken him, and let Kurama deal with the little child and his Yo-yos."

"Hey, you watch it shrimpy! I just got cheated is all." Kuwabara argued back.

"Nice one Hiei." She gave a small laugh.

As she looked back she witnessed Kurama finally deciding to end it and he appeared behind the demon, about to land a final blow. Words skimmed across her ears as the demon spoke his last sentence, and Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. Kurama was also caught off guard and it left him open for attack. The demon taking the opportunity, he slashed his cheek just as Kurama jumped away, causing a thin cut to go across his cheek.

'_I have your human mother Kurama, or should I say, _Suichi_.'_

A low growl threatened to escape her throat as she watched Kurama being blackmailed by his mother's life. Hiei also noticed the problem but neither of us could do anything about it.

She had a small leverage that the others didn't have-- She knew the fact was that Kurama's mother would not die for many more years to come. She was not going to die today, but that only meant two things: Kurama figures out a way to beat him, or he sacrifices himself for his mother.

There was another option, and that is for her to tell Kurama that she was safe. But that could lead him into a false sense of security, and he might not be able to come up with a plan to beat him-- Then again, Kurama was smart, he probably remembers the day she saved his mother from that bus accident, warding off her death and extending her life for many years by doing so…

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose in annoyance, as a small headache started to settle in. So much trouble--

"…?" Kagome raised an eyebrow in interest as she watched Kurama make a very cleaver move.

He threw a pebble at the demons face, but that was just a distraction, so he wouldn't notice something else hitting his chest. At the moment, Kagome wasn't sure what it was that hit his chest, but she had a feeling it was something to change to tide of battle, and that idiot demon didn't even notice Kurama's cunning ploy.

She watched as the demon ordered Kurama to put his hands behind his back, because of the silly pebble trick, not wanting him to resist anymore, and to make Roto feel more empowered, she supposed. When he did Roto continued his beating, before getting angry at the heated look Kurama still expressed, and brought out his blade again.

Kagome clinched her jaw, and her hands balled into fist until her knuckles grew white. She held herself back as she witnessed him cut another slash across his cheek, over top the other one, creating an X mark. It took all her will power not to charge at him and rip the demon's head off, but she tried to keep calm, because she trusted Kurama that his plan will work…

As it turned out her assumptions were correct, and the ending result was worth the wait. When Kurama dared him to press the button, the demon got angered and smirked, but just as he was going to, his body was paralyzed, unable to move. With a winning smile, Kurama announced just what he did, and the demon finally understood he was defeated.

The object Kurama chucked at his body was a seed from a death plant. The pebble was a distraction so he wouldn't notice, like she thought. Kurama fed it with his energy, and it slowly grew throughout the inside of is body like a web.

Once Roto realized it was over, he started begging for his life, but Kurama was not a merciful person when it comes to battle, and in an instant the plant came to life, bursting out of his body, displaying a beautiful array of colorful plants. He got what he deserved in the end…

"What irony. Such beauty, sprung from such an ugly soil." Kurama mumbled to himself, as he walked back towards them after undoubtedly being called the winner.

Looking down at the demon's lifeless body, as purple and pink flowers were encased around it, her eyes started to fog over in thought at the familiar image.

"Flowers…" She whispered into the wind as the cocky face of Yoko appeared in her mind. So he too, knows how to manipulate plants…

Even though she doesn't mean to, the more she spends time with Kurama, and gets to know him, the more she sees Yoko in him. Looking down at the ground she found herself slowly slipping away from the world, and into her own.

She knew it was wrong of her to think so but-- Coincidences can only go so far…

"Is something the matter, Kagome?" Kurama's gentle tone whispered in the back of her mind.

"Hmm?" She looked up from the ground and her blue pools meet his emerald green. Once she saw the concern flashing through them she gave him a soft smile. "Good job." She praised him for his win.

"Thank you." He nodded his head in thanks-- She placed her hand onto his uninjured cheek, causing him to blink in surprise. She turned her head and hummed, examining his other cheek closely. "You don't have to look after it. Should heal on its own by the end of the day--" She gently trailed her tongue along his cut cheek, stopping him in his tracks. "That's not very sanitary…" He whispered out, but she could feel the heat coming off of his flushed cheeks.

"…" She smiled before reaching up with her free hand. It glowed a light pink, before she wiped her palm against his cheek, healing his light wound as well as rubbing off the blood in the process. "There." She hummed in satisfaction at his clean face. "Now you're back to being pretty again." She playfully joked with him, winking. He gave a small chuckle, amused.

"I appreciate it." He looked down at her kindly. She smirked, before turning her head away and giving a small mischievous whistle. He raised and eyebrow, but then his eyes widened, stunned as she sloppily and roughly swiped her bloodily hand on his nice white outfit, smudging it all over his chest. "…" He blinked in surprise, before glancing down. "Lovely…" He sighed.

"Sorry, but I can't help messing with you." She laughed, and patted his shoulder in reassurance.

"It's quite understandable, I suppose, but don't think you are going to get away with this." He threatened.

"OooOo~!" She teased. "I'm so scared."

"Just you wait." He smirked.

"Looking forward to it--"

"Get ready!!" Koto's voice spoke up, and Kagome snapped her head towards the ring. On stage, was the vampire and Hiei.

"When did Hiei go up?"

"While you were daydreaming." Kurama answered.

"FIGHT!!"

Just as the words left Koto's mouth, vampire man Zeru burst with power and the flames engulfed him. In an instant Kagome called her power and a large barrier surrounded her and the rest of the team, just before the flames shot forth. They hit the barrier, before going over top and around it, missing them completely.

"How's Yusuke?" She looked over her shoulder at the others behind her.

"Good." Botan smiled towards her, before whipping a bead of sweat from her brow. The surprise attack obvious scared her.

"Everyone else okay?" She asked.

"Fine." Kurama spoke up.

"…" The masked fighter just nodded in thanks.

"Thanks Kagome." Kuwabara gave her a goofy grin and she laughed, shaking her head at his silly attitude.

"No problem." She was glad they were all safe, but the audience behind and around them was not so lucky. The flames missed her companions because of her fast reaction, but the flames bypassed the barrier only to attack the helpless demons like before.

After the flames retreated she lowered her barrier. She wanted to keep it up for the entire battle, but that would use up her energy. She couldn't afford to spend it all right now, incase someone got badly hurt or something extreme happened. Its not that she isn't positive they will win, but she always likes to prepare for the worst, so she doesn't get caught off guard and surprised. As they say: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst…

All seemed to be going quite well for now though. Zeru was launching fire attacks one right after another, as they shot out of his hands. Hiei was dodging them with great speed and wonderful agility, untouched. Hiei landed on the stage, standing tall, and after demonstrating his skill, Zeru was still laughing confidently even though Hiei was unscathed through it all. It was at that moment that Kagome was glad he left Kaji back at the Hotel room…

With a loud roar flames shot out of his body and sky rocketed into the air, well beyond the height of the stadium. The hot fire was circling above his body like clouds, before they quickly flew back into his body, as if merging. Only after a few seconds the preparation was complete, and all the fire was now inside of his body, making his skin, and even his hair and clothes, engulfed in red from the scorching heat emitting from his form.

Hiei just smirked, unimpressed. Zeru huffed, glaring at him, before wasting no time and charging at him. His speed was something to be amazed at, and he caught Hiei off guard, jabbing his hand into his stomach so hard that it burst through his back from the other side.

Hiei's body was also engulfed in flames, catching on fire, and he grunted in pain as he body was thrown into the air and he slowly floated back down, as if in slow motion. As Hiei was falling, Zeru took the opportunity to deal a powerful attack at him while he was defenseless.

Gathering all the heat into his fist, he shot a large ball of energy at Hiei, and it hit, sending a blinding flash through the whole arena. Everyone went quiet as they watched Hiei's painfully float to the ground, his body still in flames. Though everyone else on the team seemed surprised, she on the other hand found herself watching closely, knowing that all was not what it seemed.

Hiei's body gave a thud as it finally hit the concrete stage, lying motionless as the flames continued to burn. Zeru gave a snort, unimpressed by how 'weak' he was, and turned around, staring to walk away. Yet he was proven wrong when Hiei appeared behind him, on his feet with a smirk on his face. She smiled at him and closed her eyes. So she was right…

Hiei stood there, his shirt ripped both in the front, where his stomach was, and the back, yet his skin and body looked unharmed. Then Hiei's white headband was burnt off, revealing his Jagan Eye.

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" He shouted, and his energy level skyrocketed. Suddenly the flames fizzled out, leaving him untouched and he raised his hand, palm up. Blackened flames appeared in it, and it's dark aura started to consume the area.

Kagome could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she took a deep breath, savoring the exciting feeling as her body started to shiver. It's been a while since she felt like this-- The feeling of powerful energy pushing and fighting against her own. It was as if she was back in the Demon World once more. Back to the time where every second the suffocating aura it produced would push against her senses, making her adapt and grow into the powerful Miko she is today.

"You know it's impossible to control it completely. Once I release it I have no say." Hiei spoke up. "I have the power to pull you into oblivion. I assume just my right arm will do." He smirked. "You should never have insulted the Jagan Eye." He told him. "Because you see, in a way it has its own mind, and loathes disrespect. Resisting it is not something I would do."

"Kagome!" Kuwabara shouted over the roar of the flames. Hiei's body started to spark as the dark flames flickered under his feet, waiting to be let loose. "Quickly!!! Put a barrier around us!!" He yelled, his hands over his mouth like a speakerphone. "He'll kill us all!!"

"I can't!" She shouted back and shrugged. "My power would attract it like a moth to a flame!" No pun intended. "It would come straight for me, and would follow my energy until it killed me." She stated matter-of-fact.

"…!!!" Kuwabara turned pale at the thought. "Never mind!!!!" He quickly changed his plan. "I'm all for you not dying and stuff!!"

"…" She shook her head and gave a light laugh.

In reality she is in great danger and shouldn't be laughing, but the Earth draining her energy is considered a good thing in this situation. If she was at full strength, even if she was suppressing as much power as she could, it would still come after her the moment it was released. Though she was low on energy beyond recognition, compared to her true power, she still had a very high chance that the attack would still sense and target her-- She sighed. No use worrying about it now, she supposed, it would only make things worse.

"Dragon of the Darkness flame!!!" Hiei shouted.

His body tensed up and his shirt was ripped off his body as the powerful technique surrounded him, concentrating into his hand. Pointing it outward and towards Zeru, the attack was launched. It roared in rage, emerging and flying out of his hand in the form of a dragon's head, bearing its fangs at him as it erupted in immense energy and slammed into the helpless demon.

The attack continued onward, until it bashed the demon into the wall surrounding the arena. It only lasted a few seconds, but after it was done and over with, people went silent as the dust and dark fog disappeared. Everyone looked on in both horror and awe as Hiei raised his burnt arm, and he looked at Zeru's charred remains. All that was left of the demon was an outline of his body, sprawled against the wall.

"Where's Zeru?" Koto popped her head out from the edge of the ring. "There's his outline at least." She whispered in surprise. "Well, he's definitely out of the ring--"

"Believe me, he is not coming back." Hiei told her. "That cinder is all that's left."

"…!" She gave a small gasp in shock, while turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. "Yes, then I suppose counting to ten would be a little ridiculous." She noted. "Let's give it up for Hiei!!!" She shouted in cheer and raised her hand into the air. Everyone just gave hushed grumbles, mostly still in shock at what they just witnessed.

The score board then gave a click and showed that it was now 2 - 1 with our team in the lead. Hiei huffed and placed his hands into his pockets and slowly strolled back over to us.

"Yeah! We're punching our way to the top!" Kuwabara cheered in joy. "Hiei can beat anyone with that move--!!" He paused and turned pale. " 'Hiei can beat anyone with that move' " He repeated. "Am I listening to myself?! What if he decides to be a bad guy again?! What if he decides to shoot _us _with the dragon!?!?"

"Don't worry, fool." Hiei huffed while looking at him. "We entered into an alliance and I'm not the type to break it." He told him. "Of course, after we win the tournament I can't guarantee anything." He gave a small hiss and turned away from him.

"Congratulations on the win, Hiei." Kagome smiled at him.

"Hmm." He just hummed in response. Her eyes zoomed in on his burnt arm and followed Hiei with her eyes as he walked past her--

"I was surprised to hear that you couldn't put up your barrier, Kagome." Kurama's curious voice spoke up.

"Hmm?" She turned away from Hiei to look at him. "Oh, yeah." She sighed. "Evil energy and mine don't really mix." Reaching up she rubbed the back of her neck to sooth the hairs. "If I released any energy at all, it would have turned around and hunted me down until I was engulfed." She gave a small laugh, trying not to think about it. Unbeknown to her, Hiei paused mid-step, his crimson orbs widened in surprise, and he quickly glanced at her.

"Speaking from experience?" Kurama looked down at her. His tone suggested his was both concerned and yet intrigued about it the same time.

"Of course, I _am_ over 500 years old--" She paused in her sentence and snapped her head up to look across the arena. Her blue pool narrowed at the entryway on the other side.

She watched as the two weaker members of the other team started to freak at how strong Hiei was, and how quickly he beat Zeru. They both ran for it out of fear, and into the darkened gateway out of the arena. Rinku yelled for them to come back, but then small yelps of pain was herd, and a tall man walked out.

He was tan, with a blue Mohawk, messy goatee, and a leather jacket. In one hand was a large bottle of alcohol, and in the other was the shirt collars of the two members, both dead as he dragged them out in the open. He threw them onto the grassy floor with a thud and squinted.

"Bloody hell ets bright out 'ere" He slurred out and took a large swig of the bottle. Even though he was obviously drunk, she could still hear the heavy Australian accent that hung in his words as he spoke. She sighed as she felt her senses start to prickle from his power. He is stronger then Zeru, that's for sure-- " 'ey! Tell those guys not to run 'way again." He mumbled down at Rinku. Again? They're dead-- "T'ere's a fight to fight!" He lazily threw the empty bottle over his shoulder and it broke on impact with the ground. He stumbled towards the stage and placed his arms onto the concrete flooring. "Upy-daisy~!" He gave a grunt as he horribly failed at trying to lift himself onto the ring, and ending up falling back onto the ground, landing on his ass. " 'ey! No need to make the ring tall'er! Lets just 'ave some fun."

"Oh dear." Botan's voice spoke up worriedly. "A drunken mad-man has escaped into the ring."

Once the tall man finally made it to the stage, he wobbled for a second and fell back onto his butt. It was then he decided it was best to sit there, and looked over to Koto.

" 'ey announcer Sheila!" He pointed towards her. "You look pretty hot!" Random compliment-- If you would take it as one. "Could you come over 'ere a second?"

"Umm?" Koto looked around and pointed to herself.

"I got a question fer 'ya!!" He shouted as if angry, and smacked his palm onto the floor. She gave a small eep of surprise and quickly scurried over to him.

"Y-Yes?"

"Two of 'em fellas just died on accident--" He told her.

"Really?" Her voice cracked a little.

" 'ow are they going to continue?" He gave a rude burp directly in her face and she turned her head away, pinching her nose from the bad smell.

"Doesn't matter how many die, each team is only allowed one fighter." She told him with her nasally voice. After a second she finally released her nose and sighed. "Rokuyukai can fight with Rinku and one alternate, if they find one." She told him.

"You sure 'bout that?!" He smirked.

"I am a walking rule book. My entire life is this tournament! Of course I'm sure!" She seemed rather proud of that fact.

"Yeah~!!" He cheered in joy and abruptly stood up, scaring the poor woman in the process. "That means I can fight these last two boys myself. I think that's really ripper." He gave a small hiccup and fell, quickly sitting back down and slouching his head. Koto blinked, and after a second of him not moving she took a few steps forward-- She squeaked in surprise when he reached out and pulled her to him. He grinned happily, and started to roughly rub his stubbly cheek against hers. "Thanks fer' everything Sheila!" He laughed and stood up, stumbling into the middle of the ring.

"His spirit power is a lot less then Zeru's but I have a creepy feeling. Watch out you guys." Kuwabara spoke his mind.

"What could you be worried about?" Botan walked up to him, while glancing at the man on stage. "He is the alternate fighter."

"Botan, have you forgotten that _I _am our team's alternate fighter?" She reminded the cheery woman of that important fact. Botan gave a nervous laugh, and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Strength wise I am quite powerful, but that man is no pushover either." She stated, motioning towards the man with her head. "His is definitely more powerful then the other members of his team."

"How do you know?" Kuwabara looked towards her. "I don't sense anything."

"I'm more experienced then you, and I'm more sensitive."

"Let's go you soots! I wanna get a good brawlin' before my fun wares off!" He shouted to them. " 'N that case you better all fight me at once! Ha-ha-- Ahchoo!"

"So? Who's going to take him?" Kuwabara turned towards us. "It hasn't been very long since all three of us fought our matches."

" 'urry up!!" He yelled at them, spitting everywhere.

"Chu is extremely impatient." Koto announced into her microphone.

"What did you say?" He slurred out and looked at Koto over his shoulder.

"I only say it as I see it."

"Don't go'on confusin' me with big words. Just get me a fighter!" He ordered her and pointed to the direction of our team.

"Shut your drunken trap and hold on a minute." Kagome huffed at him, sending him a glare.

"Ooo~" He gave a low whistle. "Mighty feisty aren't cha?" He gave a cocky grin. "I like 'em like that." She rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Urameshi team, please bring out your next combatant." Koto's echoing voice spoke up.

"Well, we still have that masked fighter guy." Kuwabara was mostly talking to himself, and he turned and looked at said person. "Come on man, it's your turn!" He called to him. The fighter just closed his eyes, not responding.

"If you can't give me someone I will have to disqualify." Koto told him.

"H-Hang on a minute." Kuwabara stuttered. "I guess I will have to take control of this fight…" He proudly announced. "Unless I can get Urameshi to wake up!!" He shouted and pointed towards Yusuke-- "Uh?" He blinked in surprise when he noticed the leader was no longer there. "That's weird. Where'd he go?" They all looked back towards the stage just in time to see Yusuke jump into the ring. "Well that's unexpected." The goof mumbled.

"Waking up to the smell of alcohol. Cant help but feel a touch of home." Yusuke sighed and reached up, cleaning out his ear with his pinky. "Hey all you stupid demons!!" He yelled out, raising his fist into the air. "I've been trying to sleep through your cleaver trash talk long enough, and I'm ready to kick some asses!!"

"Go get'em Punk!" Kagome called to him, smirking.

After a few stretches the team leader suck his hands inside of his pockets and walked into the middle of the ring. A few seconds later all the demons started to chant 'Kill Yusuke' over and over again, obviously not liking the boy-- Wonder why…

Something crossed her mind and she sighed. Looking over towards Hiei her eyes focused back onto his arm. She knew it was a bad wound. The burn covered his entire hand and stretched all the way up to his elbow. She was about to look at it when Chu distracted her-- She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How could something like that slip her mind?

Hiei wasn't standing too far away, so in just a few steps she was by his side. He took his eyes off of the ring, and looked up at her.

"What is it?"

"Let me look at your arm." She reached out to touch it but he turned away from her.

"You don't need to see it."

"Of course I do, you're hurt." She tried for it again, but he took a step back, dodging her.

"It's none of your business." His crimson orbs glared at her, as if looking into her soul.

"…" She sighed, and gently reached out, placing her hand onto his cheek. This surprised him and his eyes widened slightly. "Stop being so stubborn and let me help you."

"I don't need your charity, woman." He pulled away from her touch.

"I know you're in pain." She gave a hushed whisper. "You might not be able to use your hand again." She looked down at him seriously. "Let me see if I can help you." She offered once more. His crimson orbs locked onto her blue pools, and the staring contest continued for several moments. She could tell he was thinking it over in his mind.

"Hmph." He gave a small huff, and looked away from her. Taking his hand out of his pocket he held it out in front of her.

"Thank you." She smiled, and her eyes softening towards him. She gently ran her fingers through his hair in praise, before bending down eye-level with him. "Hmm." She reached out, and before she even touched his hand, she saw him flinch, anticipating the pain. It was small, almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye, but she saw it. "I know it hurts." She whispered to him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to touch you right now. " She tried to reassure him, and gently hovered her hands over his arm, scanning the surface with a very tiny amount of her energy. "Mmm."

"Mmm?" He repeated. "What does that mean? Can you fix it or not?"

"So grumpy." She replied. After a few more seconds of looking it over she removed her hands. "It will take time, but I can heal you." This caught his attention and he whipped his back around to look at her. Standing straight she reached out and gently placed her hand onto his cheek in reassurance. "Like I said, it will take time so we will have to do it at the Hotel." She gently patted his cheek in encouragement. "Until then, try to endure it for now."

"A little pain won't bother me."

"That's good to hear." She smiled at him, and then turned back towards the fight, deciding to watch it while standing beside her heated friend.

"I hope you can at least give me a decent warm up in the state you are in." Yusuke smirked, throwing his jacket outside of the ring.

"Well this is plenty great. You don't think I can fight either, do 'ya?" Chu huffed, pointing at him. "Let me tell 'ya something mate! I uhh-- I'm like-a _master _'n Drinking Fighting!" Chu told him, still staggering on the stage, trying to not to fall down. "Sui Ken technique. That's the official name… I think. 'ya get distracted by my irregular moves." He slurred out, continuing to keep his balance so far. "Crapper _craps _ets bright out 'ere!!"

"Yeah wobbly, give me a break." Yusuke wasn't impressed. "So the tipsy fighting thing might be weird, but I still heard of it before. You better have something else to make this a real challenge." He smirked. "I didn't come all this way just to baby-sit a drunk."

"Then wait a minute. You won't yabber that once I hit my grove." Yusuke's words must have hit a nerve, because Chu snapped out of his drunken state, as if by magic, and got serious. " 'Course I got to stumble into et first." He started to stagger around the stage, chuckling, and after a few sloppy movements of his feet he got into position, hands raised with a confident smirk.

"Fight begin!!" Koto shouted out.

Chu powered up, and everyone got a good taste of his true energy. Most were surprised to say the lest, but Chu didn't give them any time to snap out of their shock, before going on the move. His body just floated to the side, and using great speed, making his movements were hard to track. His actions were irregular and his speed only added to the problem. She didn't have much trouble once she locked onto him, but she knew Yusuke was probably having a more difficult time adjusting to the strange foot work.

Chu then went into the offensive, and attacked from the side. Yusuke raised his arms to block, but by doing so he left himself open. Taking the opportunity, Chu gave Yusuke five good punches in the stomach, sending our teammate flying in the air, before jumping up and landing a blow in the back of the head. When our leader slammed into the ring with a thud, Koto spoke up and motioned towards the screen, wanting to see the clip in slow motion-- Seems she, like most of the other demons, didn't see all the hits…

After they watched that the drunkard, indeed, landed five hits instead of one, the fight continued. Yusuke popped up as if it didn't even faze him, and charged Chu head-on, going into the offensive this time. One punch after another was sent at Chu, but the lug dodged every one of them like nothing. After 50 or so jabs Yusuke got frustrated, and in his anger he was finally able to land a hit in the jaw, sending the demon flying off his feet and onto his back from the force.

By this point The Hero was out of breath, as he looked at the demon lying on the floor. Suddenly Chu disappeared, and reappeared beside him-- Before the boy wonder could defend himself, the drunken master sent him flying with a powerful kick. Yusuke soared threw the air like a bullet, and slammed into the wall so hard, it crumpled, the rubble landing on top of him.

"…" Kagome sighed, gently rubbing the bridge of her nose, between her eyes. "Don't pull a Kuwabara on us Yusuke. You are supposed to be the leader, for Pete's sake." She mumbled.

It was several moments before Yusuke finally popped up and jumped back in the ring at the count of nine. After few choice words the fight continued-- Yusuke let off his spirit gun but aimed it at the stadium instead of his enemy. He gave Chu a warning of what the attack was, and that he had three more left, showing his attack before using it.

"…" Reaching up she rubbed her face in frustration.

Chu laughed and also released his special technique as well. Putting his hand behind his back he pulled out a flask. He introduced the drink as 'Ogre Killer' the strongest alcohol ever made. Pulling the tap off with his teeth, he spit it out onto the floor, before chugging the drink down his throat until there was nothing left.

The drunken man threw the empty flask on the floor. His energy quickly changed, and his aura started to grow in power. It was so strong that it completely eclipsed the stadium in a sheen of fog. The demon gave a grunt as his body started to twitch and everyone was quiet, waiting for what was going to happen--

Suddenly everything stopped and Chu snapped his eyes open. The demon turned pale and placed his hands over his mouth. Running to the edge of the ring, he vomited, barfing up his lunch--

"What the hell…" She sighed.

Everyone practically face-vaulted in surprise, while the others just sweat-dropped.

"Kurama?" She whispered out and looked towards the redhead.

"Yes?" He looked away from the ring and towards her.

"Come here." She motioned with her hand for him to come close.

"Something wrong?" He seemed concerned as he walked up to her.

"…" She sighed and leaned her body against his, resting her head on his chest. "Wake me when it's over." She told him, closing her eyes.

"You are going to sleep?" He sounded surprised. "But the fight is still going on."

"That isn't a fight." She corrected. "That's two idiots exchanging fists."

"Hmm." He gave a light hearted chuckle. "Like I said, fighting."

"Chu proves resilient after his hacking spell." Koto's voice echoed throughout the speakers.

Kagome sighed and turned back around, facing the stage. When her eyes landed on Chu, she got interested again and decided to continue watching while standing between Kurama and Hiei.

The tipsy demon was sober again, and this time his skin turned darker and his hair somehow had a purple tint to it. Chu smirked and placed his hands in front of his chest. A powerful energy started to swirl between them.

"What is that stuff?" Kuwabara questioned.

"His energy, you lump." Hiei answered. "He's creating his finishing move. If you look closely, you can actually see alcohol mixed in with his energy." Once the attack was gathered, Chu raised his hands, smirking as the orange ball was glowing with power.

"Whoa that looks a lot like Urameshi's spirit gun!" Kuwabara spoke up again.

"And approximately equal in force." Kurama added.

"What?! Don't you think we should tell Yusuke that?" Botan peeped. But Kagome could see the gleam in his eyes, and just by the excitement flashing through them, she could tell that he already knows…

Chu got ready, and he threw the ball at Yusuke like a pro-pitcher. Yusuke raised his hand and pointed his finger, firing at the same time. The two attacks hit each other mid-way, and started to clash against one another, fighting for dominance.

"Wow!!" Koto's happy cheer fell into her ears as she announced what was going on. "The two fighter's energies are actually duke'ing it out!!" The attacks started to spark and sizzle, trying their hardest to beat the other.

"Get 'em Urameshi's energy!!!" Kuwabara cheered. Kagome shook her head at the goof's silly antics.

Suddenly the two energies burst into nothing, signaling a draw. The two lugs in the ring didn't waste anytime after that and change one another screaming. Once they were close enough, they immediately raised their fists and started slugging fast blows. Neither one was blocking the others fists as the blurred punches continued to fly.

"There not even bothering to block those head-shots." Kuwabara whispered in awe.

"This is pure offence." Hiei spoke up. "They gave up fighting with their brains a long time ago. Now it's simply a matter of who can endure the most pain."

After several hundred blows, give or take by her guess, Chu reared back his fist and landed a good uppercut. The attack sent Yusuke flying off his feet, skidding on the ground and leaving a good opening. Chu took the opportunity and made another ball of energy, except this time it was three times the size of the last one. The demon then threw it at our leader with all his might, and Yusuke was off balance, unable to defend.

He quickly got to his feet and raised his hand, pointing his finger at the ball. She wondered if he was going to try a spirit gun, but that would be a bad move, his shot would not be enough to block the attack--

"Double Spirit Gun!!" Yusuke shouted just as he fired off two consecutive blasts one right after another.

The bullets penetrated through the center of the orange attack, coming out the other side and heading straight for Chu. The tall demon was caught off guard and both attacks hit him just as the huge energy slammed into Yusuke. Both hits were immense and created huge dust clouds on impact. But it didn't take long for it to clear, reveling nothing… No bodies, not even severed limbs, just _nothing_-- As if they vanished.

"No trace of either warrior can be found! Nothing! Not even a pile of ashes." Koto announced while looking side to side for any trace. "Has the fight truly ended in a draw!?" Kagome glanced up, spotting our fighters in the air. At that moment Koto also looked up, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Unbelievable! Both of them have survived!" The two fighters landed on the ring, facing each other, both looking exhausted. They were leaned over, and taking deep breaths, trying to regain strength while glaring at the other, still willing to fight. "Well, they burned their skin, shortened their breath, and somehow lost their shirts. Altogether I would call it a successful fight!"

"With that two fer' one shot you've used up all the ammo fer' your spirit gun." Chu spoke up. He no longer had the power-up energy stored in his body, his skin and hair was back to their normal color. "Maybe you can roundup enough energy to swing your little dukes, but that's 'bout et, right?"

"Pretty much…" Yusuke grunted out between each breath.

"I can barely lift my arms." Chu smiled while placing his hands onto his knees. After a few quiet moments the two fighters started to laugh, somehow finding the whole thing funny.

"Can you hear them?" Koto watched, stunned. "There laughing at their own helplessness! It seems the strain of battle has driven them into hysteria."

After their laughter subsided she watched with slight interest as Chu suggested a 'Knife-edged death match' to settle the fight, since neither of them could do anything else but throw punches. Once said he reached into his boots and pulled out two long knives, about a foot in length. Several tense moments passed as everyone wondered what at Knife-edge death match was…

Taking a few steps he jabbed the blade into the stage, and after making sure to check it to so it won't come loose, he stood up. Walking back to his spot he stabbed the other knife on the other side. He told Yusuke to take off his shoes and place his foot in front of the blade. To demonstrate he took off his boots and placed his foot in front of the knife and got into a solid stance. Yusuke nodded and did the same, both facing each other, fists raised.

The rules were: Don't step outside of the knife boundary line, and swing until you one of you dies-- Wonderful…

Koto spoke up, and said that rules were called by the committee, and they would have to wait for their decision. They both waited, still in their stance, while the other demons seemed to like the idea of the brutal dual. It didn't take long for the screen to show their answer by placing an X on it. The demons booed, and started to cause a ruckus, wanting to see the two duke it out.

After several minutes of the demon's chanting the committee recalled their decision and the screen went back to blank, weighing their thoughts on the idea once more. This time the call was taking much longer, and the audience was getting restless. Koto tried to keep them calm, while Chu and Yusuke stayed in their stance, staring each other down with smirks on their faces, waiting.

The sky turned dark as ominous clouds hovered above the stadium, signaling a storm. Finally, after a long wait the screen showed a circle, and immediately the two started exchanging fists, as blow landed hit for hit. Headlights turned on and illuminated the ring, showing the two men grunting and swinging as if their life depended on it-- And it did…

The punches were slow, but full of much force as the attacks hit their opponent, hoping that the next hit will be the one to take him down. Their focus was immense, as if nothing else around them existed, only them and their fists. Several minutes of this brutal punching, and their feet were cutting into the blades, sending blood pooling around them.

A jab in the stomach, a blow to the jaw, each hit sent sweat and blood splattering onto the stage. Both seemed to be enjoying each second of the all-out brawl, but she could tell that their energy was draining and they were on their last limbs--

Chu landed a powerful blow to the jaw, and Yusuke let his guard down for just a second. Taking it as his shot, Chu shot forward using his own head as a weapon. Yusuke saw it coming and he too pushed his last strength into his final blow. Both of their skulls slammed into each other full force, and they gritted their teeth at the harsh impact. Neither seemed to have backed down from the attack, both were still pressed against the other's forehead-- Suddenly Chu gave a grunt, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

He fell to the side, and landed onto the hard concrete like a sack of stones, his skull crushing the material as if it were nothing. Koto then took the time to start the count.

"1--!!" Kuwabara was already celebrating, jumping for joy at Yusuke's victory. "7--!!"

"I guess you're better suited tapping kegs, then tapping heads, _mate_." Yusuke gave a small joke and chuckled at his own humor.

"9--!!" Koto called out. "10!!!!!" She cheered. "The winner of this match, and the winner of the battle is Team Urameshi, lead by Yusuke Urameshi!!" She reached over and grabbed Yusuke's wrist and held out his fist into the air, signaling their win.

"Yes!!" Kuwabara ran into the ring, standing beside Yusuke. "We can't be beat!"

"Only you, Kuwabara!" She yelled out.

"Whatever Kagome, you're just jealous!" He called back.

"Oh yes, I'm so _jealous_ that I am unable to make a fool of myself, and lose every battle I fight in."

"S-Shut up!!" Was his witty reply.

"HA! She showed you!" Yusuke laughed, while holding his stomach. "Ah~! Don't make me laugh!! It hurts!" Even though it hurt, he couldn't contain his laughter.

"Urameshi." The whispered voice of Chu called to him, finally awake, and he slowly peeled himself from the ground, sitting up. Hearing his voice the teen stopped his giggles and looked at him. "We agreed to fight a death match, mate. Finish me off." He looked up at him seriously. Yusuke stared at him for a few seconds, and then smiled.

"Heh. Nah, we'll fight again when you get better." He gave him a thumps up with a grin on his face.

"Ah…" Chu was slightly shocked at first, but then a smile crept into his face. "You 'old ripper." He sighed. " 'ets been an honor, Urameshi."

"Likewise Pal." He replied.

Turning to Kuwabara, without needing words, the tall goof lent him his shoulder, and the slick leader draped his arm over him. Kuwabara helped him limp off stage, walking towards them. While doing so, the roar of the crowd tripled, all booing at Chu and Rinku for their loss.

"You're a disgrace!"

"Losers!"

"Weaklings!"

"What are you waiting for Urameshi!? Kill him!!!" They were now screaming for Yusuke to kill Chu.

"We want some blood!!!"

"Kill that drunken loser Urameshi!!!"

By the time the boy finally got to us, the yells were too much for him, pissing him off, and he harshly pulled away from Kuwabara.

"SHUT UP!!!!!!" He screamed to the top of his lungs, his voice carried throughout the whole stadium, overpowering the demons. They all quickly quieted down, shocked-- "If you idiots got something to say…" His booming voice echoed down the whole arena. "Say it to my face--!!!" He commanded. "Or else say it to my fist!!!" He held up his fist, threatening them.

He stood strong, breathing heavily from the loud roar. The demons were so stunned that they were unable to speak or do anything. After a few seconds Kagome laughed and reached over, harshly pulling the kid down. Wrapping her arm around his neck she pinned his head in her armpit, and proceeded to give him a rough noogie in praise.

"You tell 'em!" She smirked.

Yusuke laughed at her playful treatment, taking it with good spirits. She found herself smiling as she looked down at the spirit detective, but she couldn't help but wonder if all their fights would go this well…

* * *

Kagome was walking down the hallway with the rest of the crew. They were headed to their suite, and she was in the back, along with Kurama. Glancing at Yusuke, who was in front, she looked down at his foot and gave him a once over.

"How's your wounds Yusuke?" She called to him. He glanced at her over his shoulder.

"Never been better!" Flashing her a cheeky grin, he gave her a thumbs up.

"That's good." Would have been embarrassing if she wasn't able to heal him back into shape.

The color of Kurama's red hair softly moved in the corner of her vision, but she tried her best not to look. If she looked, then she would only start thinking about _him_ again. She sighed, and without realizing it her pace started to slow down.

The fight distracted her from the thoughts, but the reality of it was that Kurama reminded her so much of Yoko that it bothered her.

At first she thought it was just coincidence, the way he would talk or act, even some of his interests and dislikes. Especially how his scent was exactly the same as Yoko's. She came to the conclusion that she was just paranoid and that she was purposely spotting the similarities. She should never, _ever_, think of Kurama as a substitute for Yoko, because she knows how horrible that feeling is, and never brought it up again-- But she couldn't help that the fact that he also controls flowers, and Kuwabara even said that he had a Rose Whip, just like Yoko…

Now that she was left to her own thoughts, her mind started reeling and every time she looked at Kurama, the face of Yoko would appear to her. Guilt hit her hard, and her focus was on the floor as she hung her head low.

"Is something the matter? You are falling behind." Kurama's soothing tone fell into her ears, making her look up.

"…" She glanced around and noticed the others were several feet ahead of them. She was practically crawling, dragging her feet on the ground as she walked. She sighed and stopped moving all together. "It's nothing…" She lied and turned her head away from him, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"It's not like you to lie." His tone dropped. "Something is really bothering you." He quickly figured her out, and the concern laced in his words only made her guilt worse.

"Kurama?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Is the ability to control plants a common thing among demons?" She asked. The question caught him off guard and he stared at her for a second.

"I-- Umm…" He seemed nervous. She fully turned her body towards him and looked into his emerald orbs. She could tell he was thinking over the question very carefully-- "Some foxes have that skill when they are born, but it really depends on the individual's energy and what it's most comfortable with."

"You're a fox demon?" She questioned. The moment the words left her mouth his eyes widened in realization, and she felt his body tense up.

"Yes." He answered truthfully. "I am." He stared at her with a serious and cold expression, as if waiting for her reaction.

The look he was giving her surprised her greatly, it reminded her so much of-- The image of Yoko giving her that exact expression overlapped his and she closed her eyes, trying to will the mirage away.

"I'm sorry…" She gave a hushed whisper, and turned away from him. She found herself gently touching the blue gem resting below her collarbone. "Every time I look at you--" She winched, pained by the idea. "I see someone else…" She sighed, feeling a tug of guilt in her heart. "I know is wrong, and I shouldn't." She wrapped her fingers around the necklace until her knuckles grew white. "You're not him."

"I did not mean to bring up bad memories." She could hear much sadness and guilt in his voice.

"No." She shook her head and looked towards him once more. "You didn't."

When our eyes meet, he gave a small flinch, as if pained. Slowly he raised his hand up, before gently brushing his knuckles against her cheek. Even his touch felt so familiar… Just like his-- She could feel her eyes start to sting, as her vision began to blur together. Silent tears softly cascaded down her cheeks, and she looked down in regret. She suddenly felt herself being pulled into a tone chest, and his arms wrapped around her smaller form.

"For him to bring tears into your eyes, he must mean much to you." His tone was soft, comforting her.

"He does." She whispered.

"I'm sorry…" He mumbled into her hair, and his hold around her tightened.

"You don't need to apologize, you did nothing wrong."

"…" She felt his whole body stiffen at her words, and his heartbeat sped up. "I'm sorry if I upset you." He finally spoke.

"It was my fault." Reaching up she brushed away her tears and sighed. "He was a dear friend of mine, and I shouldn't have compared you to him like that."

"I--" His grip on her loosened. "I am--" He cleared his throat and hummed. "I am Yo--" He took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm honored that I remind you of such an important person in your life."

She found herself smiling at his kind words, and backed away, freeing herself from his hold. Looking up at him, her blue orbs locking onto his emerald green. Reaching up she gently cupped his cheek.

"Thank you…" She whispered her thanks to him, glad that he was able to make her feel better. He was a great friend. Her expression softened towards him, and she sighed. Yet deep down she knew--

No matter how much her heart wishes it to be true… He will never be Yoko.

* * *

"So, does this mean we are friends?" Kagome asked.

"No." Hiei stated.

"You're so mean." She frowned. Slowly, and carefully, she was trailing her fingers down his arm. The tips were glowing pink with her power.

"Can't you go faster?" He questioned, being impatient.

"Can't you stop being a grouch?" She replied, taking her eyes off of his wound to glance at him.

"You've been at this for a while now. Why is it taking so long?"

"Because you keep complaining."

"Hmph." He huffed and turned his head away from her to stare out of the window. She sighed and focused back on her work.

Once everyone went into there rooms for the night, she changed into her sleeping outfit and went into Hiei's room to help heal his wound. By now she has lost track of how long she has been trying to heal him, but she knew she wouldn't last much longer.

They were both sitting on the bed, facing each other. Hiei had his legs crossed, while she sat more lady-like with her legs together and to the side. They were rather close, a hair away from touching, and neither seemed to care about that fact.

At this point Hiei had his arm in front of him, resting on his thigh. When they started he had it held out for her, between them, but when he realized that it was going to be awhile, he decided to lay it down instead. She didn't mind either way, because the work was still the same.

The tips of her fingers had small amount of her powers going into them, and she skimmed them along his burnt skin, healing him at a very slow pace. He was a demon, so she was forced to be careful and not put too much energy into it, constantly keeping an eye on how much she used. What little energy she gathered in the nights she could sleep, was gradually draining with each passing minute, but she didn't care about that.

Hiei's injury was immense, and she promised to help him. Though she doubted she could heal him completely tonight, she could at least take away some of the pain until she gathered more.

Her fingers moved down his arm and they landed on his palm. Gently she trailed them around and over his fingers-- They gave a small twitch at her touch and a soft laugh escaped through her lips.

"Hurry up." Hiei barked orders.

"You know quite well that I can't go any faster then this." She huffed. "Or do you want me to turn you to dust?"

"Would be better then listening to your incessant chattering."

"Could you stop being such an ass, and at least thank me for helping you?"

"…" He turned his gaze away from the window and stared at her. "Why would I thank you when you haven't done anything?"

"Ugh." Her eyebrows angled together in rage and she growled. She could hear him give a deep chuckle, finding her anger amusing. He knows this is helping him, but he is just saying that to frustrate her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. His cinnamon aroma tickled her nose, and calmed her in a strange way. Slowly she fluttered her eyes back open and she looked down at his arm. She blinked several times, trying to will the blurriness away. After shaking her head she sighed when it finally left.

"You… smell… nice." She whispered out. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't look at me like that… I'm not an idiot."

Her mind started to fog over, as a buzzing noise echoed in her thoughts. Slowly, black dots appeared in her vision, and she blinked, trying to make them go away. Raising her free hand she placed it over top her face, and grunted, feeling dizzy.

"You alright?" Hiei's soft voice whispered in the back of her mind.

"Don't worry…" She mumbled out. "I promised to… help you." Her thoughts started to blur together as she looked at the world with half-closed eyes. All too soon she felt her body give up, as all her energy was depleted…

Hiei's crimson orbs widened with surprise as Kagome suddenly fell forward and landing on him. He blinked, unsure what just happened, and looked down at her.

"Passed out." He quickly realized when he saw her eyes were closed, and her breathing evened out. "She must have drained herself. Weak woman."

"_Stop being so stubborn and let me help you."_

Raising his arm until he was able to get a good look at it, he slowly flexed it. A twinge of pain shot though his body and he flinched. Before, the pain was almost unbearable-- She removed a large amount of the pain in such a short time…

He sighed and glanced down at her once more.

"Thank you…" His expression softened for a moment, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came. "But don't think this means we're friends now… Damn woman." He huffed, and turned his head away from her sleeping form.

* * *

_**NOTE:**_ I hope you guys liked it!! Please review and tell me what you think-- I really REALLY would appreciate some feedback on the fight scenes. I think I'm really weak in that category, and I don't get to do them often, so I would really like your input on how I did on them in this chapter! Good? Bad? Was it too fast pace? Should I try a different approach?

The part where I put: _'Like most anime characters, they randomly called out their attacks, believing shouting out a name gives it incredible power.' _That is mostly base off a chain joke from an abridged show I seen on Youtube. I don't know which one, or even 100 percent sure it _was _an abridged show… I've watched so many of them I can't keep count anymore. I love 'em!! Lol

ShadowFoxMoon


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